NEWSFLASH: Court Upholds Death by Stoning for Nigerian Mother
A northern Nigerian Islamic high court rejected an appeal from a single mother sentenced to death by stoning for having sex outside of marriage. Islamic law, called Shariah, calls for death to women who commit adultery but a lesser punishment for adulterous men.
Amin Lawal gave birth to a daughter more than nine months after divorcing, and her conviction was upheld based on her admission of having non-marital sex. She is the second woman condemned to death under Islamic law for sex outside of marriage, but the first woman's sentence was overturned by appeal in March. The man that Lawal claims is the child's father denied the accusation and was acquitted for lack of evidence.
Even though Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo's government has declared Shariah death punishments unconstitutional, predominantly Muslim states in Northern Nigeria are striving to enforce the strict Islamic code. Obasanjo has given no signs of intervening in the case.
Many in the packed courtroom shouted, "God is great," when the judge upheld Lawal's death sentence, which will be carried out as soon as the baby finishes breast-feeding. Lawal will appeal to a higher Islamic court and then the Supreme Court if the appeal fails.
Information based on Associated Press Articles, August 19 and 25, 2002
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