Iranian State Media: France’s First Lady a ‘Prostitute’

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France's First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (Left)

REUTERS/Mal Langsdon

There’s no secret to Carla Bruni-Sarkozy’s viewpoint on Iran’s potential stoning of a woman convicted of adultery: censure and nothing less.

Sanikeh Mohammadi Ashtiani was handed the sentence in 2006, sparking an international debate over the levels of cruelty associated with the drug-laden punishment. Last week, Bruni-Sarkozy came out as a fervent opponent, crafting an open letter that pinned the judgment as an event that would “deeply wound all women, all children, all those who have feelings of humanity.”

Iran has now reciprocated with its own dose of criticism, using a state-influenced newspaper to run a set of disparaging remarks against France’s first lady. The AP reports that an article in Saturday’s edition of the Kayhan, headlined “French prostitutes enter the human rights uproar,” labeled Bruni-Sarkozy as a “prostitute.”

The paper purportedly attempted to revive infidelity rumors surrounding Bruni-Sarkozy and an affair with a singer. Those whispers had surfaced last April, but were dispelled by the first-lady and subsequently died down. The office of her husband, French president Nicolas Sarkozy, declined comment to the AP on Iran’s words.