TEHRAN: Iranian police have tried to execute an arrest warrant for the lawyer of a woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery in a case that sparked an international outcry, an opposition website reported.
"Security agents went to the office of Mohammad Mostafaie on Saturday afternoon with an arrest warrant but the lawyer was not there," the Rahesabz website said.
"They did not manage to arrest him. But on Saturday night they arrested his wife Fereshteh Halimi and her brother Farhad Halimi from near his office. There is no news of Mohammad Mostafaie," the report posted on Sunday said.
Rahesabz said that authorities had summoned Mostafaie, who is also a well known human rights activist, for questioning twice in recent days.
AFP’s attempts to contact him also failed as his mobile phone was switched off.
Mostafaie has been representing Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two, who was sentenced to death by stoning after she was found guilty of adultery.
Her sentence, which sparked an outcry in Western countries, has been temporarily halted by judiciary Chief Sadeq Larijani.
