Amnesty International has criticised the Iranian state television for broadcasting a "purported confession" by Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who is facing death by stoning on charges of adultery.
The human rights group accused the channel of coercing the 43-year old mother of two into giving an interview.
Ashtiani was first convicted in May 2006 for having an illicit relationship with two men after the death of her husband, and was sentenced by a court to 99 lashes. Later that year she was also convicted of adultery and sentenced to be stoned.
Iran had temporarily lifted the stoning sentence after Ashtiani's case attracted US and other international human rights agencies. But the government says that she could still face an execution in the two cases.
It is understood that Iran broadcast Ashtiani's confession on Wednesday to ward off international pressure and possibly highlight a murder allegation against Ashtiani, as the crime attracts the death sentence in the US as well as many other countries.
The interview showed Ashtiani confessing to know about a plot to kill her husband, although she felt she had been misled.
