, and have come together to relay the words of artists, intellectuals and even readers, as messages for the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning. Today’s letter is from the wife of the President of the Republic of France.

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August 24, 2010

Each passing day is perhaps the last day of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s life. Every hour inevitably draws closer to her death by stoning, such as the Iranian judiciary has ordered. The woman, who languished for five years in prison in Tabriz, was convicted after a mock court in secret. Two romantic relationships outside marriage are the pretext for the verdict which exposes her to this horrible death. One kills with stones, one saves with words.

La Règle du jeu, Liberation and Elle magazine have therefore taken a new initiative. , all are invited to send us a message. A quote, an expression of solidarity, a prayer: all posts are welcome as long they say it, for Sakineh to feel less alone as she faces her murderers as the world looks at them and judges them.

Each day, let us save Sakineh!

Today we publish the letter to Carla Bruni-Sarkozy:

Dear Sakineh,

Condemned to be buried alive, and then stoned to death! Your beautiful face, reduced to a pulp! Your eyes full of sorrow and dignity, your forehead, your mind, your soul, transformed into a target for the stone throwers, exploded, pulverized, in shreds! Horror and consternation! This revoltingly nightmarish image, this vision that terrifies us and seems to come from a long ago age, this unbelievable torture that is on the very verge of becoming reality. For obscure reasons, in cold rage, people who are like you and me have decided so, Sakineh. People who claim the right to the power of life and death over those who refuse to obey them. Having learned of the sentence pronounced against you, how can one possibly remain silent? What is at real risk of happening to you will profoundly harm all women, all children, all those who are moved by human feeling. And even worse, you would not be the only one who risks being subject to this dreadful execution. I cannot see any good that may come of this macabre ceremony, whatever the legal justifications supplied. To spill your blood, to deprive your children of their mother–but why? Because you have lived, because you have loved, because you are a woman, an Iranian? Everything within me refuses to accept this. The Iranian people are among the most ancient and remarkable nations of the planet. I do not understand how the heirs of a great civilization built upon tolerance and refinement can be unfaithful to this millennial heritage. Your judges must know, Sakineh, your name has become a symbol the world over. Let us hope they may understand that, no matter what the time or the place, they shall never be able to wash their hands of such a crime. I am proud to live in a country that has abolished the death penalty. For a long while, it was an element of our law, and I can tell you that this abolition was a democratic victory, one that was very important for all of our people. What if this victory became yours as well? What if the Iranian nation turned its back on this barbarian practice? I pray that your country’s justice may find the way to prove clement in your case and in the cases of all the other victims who risk undergoing the same torture. In France, school children learn that mercy is the greatest virtue of those who govern. In the depths of your cell, know that my husband will plead your cause unfailingly and that France will not abandon you.