Stoning Sentence Overturned

An Islamic appeals court in northern Nigeria on Thursday overturned the conviction of a single mother facing death by stoning for having sex out of wedlock in a case that has drawn world attention and dragged on for over a year.

A five-judge panel rejected Amina Lawal's conviction 4-1, saying she was not given "ample opportunity to defend herself."

If the sentence had been carried out, the 32-year-old would have been the first woman stoned to death since 12 northern states first began adopting strict Islamic law, or Shariah, in 1999.

In an hour-long ruling, the judges in black robes and white turbans said Lawal was not caught in the act and wasn't given enough time to understand the charges against her.

They also cited procedural errors, including that only one judge was present at her initial conviction in March 2002, instead of the three required under Islamic law.

Judge Ibrahim Mai-Unguwa, reading the verdict, said the court accepted Lawal's appeal and she was free to go.

Defense attorney Hauwa Ibrahim welcomed the decision. "It's a victory for law. It's a victory for justice, and it's a victory for what we stand for — dignity and fundamental human rights," she said.

In one dissenting opinion, Judge Sule Sada said Lawal had confessed to the crime and the conviction should stand. The defense had argued the court should reject Lawal's statement because no lawyers were present when it was made.

The case had drawn sharp criticism from international rights groups. President Olusegun Obasanjo's government and world leaders had called for Lawal to be spared. Last week, Brazil even offered her asylum.

Few believed the brutal sentence — in which Lawal would have been buried up to her neck in sand and executed by stoning — would ever be carried out.

"We think the death penalty for adultery is contrary to the Nigerian constitution," said Francois Cantier, a lawyer with French group Avocats Sans Frontieres, or Lawyers Without Borders, who was advising the defense. "We think that death by stoning is contrary to international treaties against torture which Nigeria has ratified. We think that death by stoning is degrading human treatment."

The panel announced its ruling at the Katsina State Shariah Court of Appeals, a single-story, mustard-colored building heavily guarded by police. The judges read their verdict inside a tiny blue-walled courtroom equipped with ceiling fans to ease the sweltering heat.

Defense and prosecution lawyers in black robes and white wigs filled the first row of stone benches.

Lawal, wrapped in a light orange veil, sat on a metal chair, eyes downcast, cradling her nearly 2-year-old daughter. After the verdict, police and lawyers hustled her out of the room before she could answer journalists' questions.

Lawal was first convicted in March 2002 following the birth of her daughter two years after she divorced her husband. Judges rejected Lawal's first appeal in August 2002.

The introduction of strict Islamic law in a dozen northern states triggered violent clashes between Christians and Muslims that killed thousands.

Five people, including Lawal, have been sentenced to stoning deaths so far. Three have now been acquitted, and two others — a pair of lovers — are still awaiting rulings.

Also under Shariah punishments, one man has been hanged for killing a woman and her two children. Muslim authorities have amputated the hands of three others for stealing, respectively, a goat, a cow and three bicycles.

Despite such harsh sentences, the majority of Muslims in the predominantly Islamic north have welcomed the implementation of Shariah, saying it's a key part of their religion and discourages crime.

Prosecutors argued Lawal's child was living proof she committed a crime under Shariah, but lead defense lawyer Aliyu Musa Yawuri said Wednesday the defense had "very strong grounds for appeal."

Yawuri said under some interpretations of Shariah, babies can remain in gestation in a mother's womb for five years, opening the possibility her ex-husband could have fathered the child.

He also argued Lawal's case should be dropped because no lawyers were present when she first testified she'd slept with another man following her divorce. Yawuri said Lawal — a poor, uneducated woman from a rural family — didn't understand the charges against her at the time.

Lawal has identified her alleged sexual partner, Yahaya Mohammed, and said he promised to marry her. Mohammed, who would also have faced a stoning sentence, has denied any impropriety and has been acquitted for lack of evidence.

Lawal is the second Nigerian woman to be condemned to death for having sex out of wedlock under Islamic law. The first woman, Safiya Hussaini, had her sentence overturned in March on her first appeal in the city of Sokoto — the same time that Lawal was first convicted.