Stoning is primarily enforced by Islamic fundamentalist sharia law, often for bizarre reasons. In 2004, 13-year-old Zhila Izadyar was sentenced to death by stoning in Iran for the "crime" of being raped by her older brother. Although the sentence was later overturned due to international outcry, equally horrific stoning sentences are quietly carried out throughout the developing world on a regular basis.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 44-year-old mother of two, was arrested in 2005 following the murder of her husband. She is being held on death row in Tabriz Prison, north-west Iran, after being convicted of “adultery while married" (which is punishable by death in Iran) and separately of being complicit in husband's murder. Sakineh does not currently have legal representation as her representative was imprisoned and banned from practising law, following her case.