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Originally Posted by JG
FUNTUA, Nigeria (AP) - An Islamic high court in northern Nigeria rejected an appeal Monday by a single mother sentenced to be stoned to death for having sex out of wedlock.
Nigerian Court Upholds Stoning Death Mon Aug 19, 9:26 PM ET By OLOCHE SAMUEL, Associated Press Writer The woman's lawyers said they planned to file an appeal to a yet higher Islamic court. If that fails, they can appeal to the Supreme Court, where the case would force a showdown between Nigeria's constitutional and religious authorities. The introduction of Islamic law, or Shariah, in a dozen northern states has sparked clashes between the country's Christians and Muslims. President Olusegun Obasanjo's government has declared Shariah punishments such as beheadings, stonings and amputations unconstitutional. Some predominantly Muslim northern states, which began instituting Shariah shortly after civilian rule replaced military dictatorship in 1999, have accused him of meddling. Clutching her baby daughter, Amina Lawal burst into tears as the judge delivered the ruling. Lawal, 30, was first sentenced in March after giving birth to a daughter more than nine months after divorcing. "We uphold the judgment from the lower court," Judge Aliyu Abdullahi said on behalf of four judges at the Islamic high court at Funtua, in Nigeria's northern Katsina state. Many of the 60 people who packed the small court room shouted "God is great!" in the Hausa dialect, as Lawal wept. The judge said the sentence would be carried out as soon as Lawal finishes breast feeding her baby. In June, the court postponed her execution until January 2004 for this reason. Lawal was given 30 days to appeal the ruling and released on bail. She declined to speak to journalists outside the court Monday. Hiding behind her lawyer, Lawal held her baby up to shield her face from photographers. About 20 police armed with tear gas stood guard at the court entrance Monday, but there were no immediate reports of violence. Lawal is the second Nigerian woman to be condemned to death by Islamic courts for having sex out of wedlock. The first, Safiya Hussaini, had her sentence overturned in March on an appeal. At least two other women have faced similar charges. One case was dismissed in January, and the other is on hold until the woman is healthy enough to appear in court. All the women have been poor, uneducated, single mothers from rural villages. Lawal's conviction was upheld on the basis that she admitted to having sex outside marriage. But her legal team argued she could not have knowingly made a confession because she did not understand the Arabic term for adultery, "zena." The man Lawal identified as her baby's father denied the accusation and was acquitted in March for lack of evidence. Most spectators in court Monday welcomed the ruling. "This is a triumph of Allah's law against the enemies of Shariah," said Mohammed Radiu, 26, an Islamic studies student. "By this judgment, we are confident the government is serious about the implementation of Shariah." Off-duty police sergeant Mohammed Radiu, 26, agreed. "She had admitted her guilt. Even in a civil court, when you admit guilt, punishment will follow," she said. Church leaders and human rights groups were dismayed. "The application of the Shariah is unconstitutional and we must not tolerate it further," John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, Archbishop of Abuja, told the Italian-based missionary news service, MISNA. London-based Amnesty International said in a statement that stoning people to death was "the ultimate form of torture" and that the "sentence should not be carried out." Baobab, a women's group paying for Lawal's defense, said an appeal in a higher court could set a legal precedent for all Nigerian Shariah courts. "But really we could have done without it," added Ndidi Ekekwe, a lawyer for the group. "For as long as this case lasts, the girl has a death sentence hanging over her head." |