Iran’s judiciary often operates as a branch of the regime.   Its sentencing can look pretty arbitrary and negotiable.   In 2006 a woman convicted of adultery was sentenced to death by stoning. But after international outcry the sentence was suspended although the charges against her remained. Earlier this month a judiciary chief said the sentence was still under review but could be lifted. It’s not the first time the judiciary has sent contradictory messages.

Kaveh Eshani is a professor of international studies at DePaul University and a contributing editor of the Middle East Report. He’s originally from Iran. He explains how he thinks the judiciary system works.

Jaffar Panahi’s film The Circle will be shown at Facets Multimedia at 1:00 on Sunday January 16th. Facets is located at 1517 West Fullerton in Chicago.  A discussion with Kaveh Eshani and Jerome McDonnell will follow the screening.