Sharia stoning postponed
2001-12-04 11:02
Nairobi - A stay of execution was granted to a 35-year-old Nigerian woman
who had been sentenced to death for adultery under Islamic sharia
law, reports from the northern state of Sokoto said on Tuesday.
A court in Sokoto granted the stay to Safiyatu Husaini, who
faced death by stoning, the first person sentenced to death since
12 northern Nigerian states began implementing sharia two years
ago, the BBC reported.
During her trial, Husaini said her 60-year-old cousin Yahaya
Abubakar raped and impregnated her.
Judge Alhaji Muhammad Bello Sanyinlawal convicted her of
adultery, dismissing the testimony of three policemen who said
Abubakar admitted to having sex with her because sharia requires
four witnesses in such a case.
Human rights groups have criticised the introduction of sharia
across much of predominantly Moslem northern Nigeria for its harsh
punishments.
An elderly man was sentenced to death by stoning for sodomy with
a minor in Kebbi state, but that sentence is yet to be carried out.
Two people have had their hands cut off for theft in Zamfara and
Sokoto states.
A teenage mother was given 80 lashes early this year for
committing adultery in Zamfara state. - Sapa/DPA
- SAPA