NIGERIA: Safiya e' stata assolta dalla Corte d'appello islamica

25/03/02

SOKOTO (NIGERIA) - La Corte d'appello islamica dello Stato di Sokoto, in Nigeria, ha assolto oggi Safiya Husaini. In primo grado Safiya, 35 anni, era stata condannata a morte mediante lapidazione per aver messo al mondo una figlia fuori dal matrimonio. La vicenda aveva suscitato proteste ed esecrazione in tutto il mondo. Davanti alla Corte d'appello, la donna si e' difesa dicendo di aver avuto la bambina, Adama, dal suo terzo e ultimo marito.

SAFIYA: ASSOLTA, PIANGE PER LA FELICITA'

(ANSA) - ROMA, 25 MAR - Ha alzato le mani per la gioia e poi e' scoppiata a piangere: cosi' Safiya Husaini, 35 anni, condannata in primo grado alla lapidazione per adulterio, ha accolto oggi la sentenza di assoluzione pronunciata dalla Corte d'appello islamica dello Stato di Sokoto, nella Nigeria.

La nigeriana, la cui vicenda ha sollevato un'ondata di proteste nel mondo intero, e' stata prosciolta dall'accusa per vizio di procedura. Il presidente della Corte, Mohammed Tambari-Uthman, ha decretato che il reato e' stato compiuto prima dell'entrata in vigore della sharia (legge coranica) e che gli indizi forniti dalla polizia sono insufficienti.

   Dopo l'annuncio dell'assoluzione, Safiya, raggiante e con in braccio la sua bambina di un anno, Adama, e' stata circondata dalla folla di parenti, giornalisti e sostenitori che gremivano l'aula del tribunale. ''Oggi sono felice. Ringrazio Dio'', ha dichiarato.

   Safiya era stata condannata a morte nell'ottobre 2001 dal tribunale islamico di Sokoto, il quale, constatando che aveva dato alla luce una bambina in febbraio quando era divorziata, l'aveva dichiarata colpevole di adulterio. Secondo la sharia in  vigore in 12 Stati nigeriani, una divorziata commette adulterio se ha rapporti sessuali prima di essersi risposata.

   Quinta di 12 figli, il padre contadino e cieco dalla nascita, Safiya dopo la condanna non era stata incarcerata. Era rimasta nel suo villaggio vicino a Sokoto dove e' nata, privo di acqua corrente e di elettricita'. ''Questa triste vicenda e' toccata a me perche' sono una povera donna di un povero villaggio'' - aveva detto ai giornalisti.

   La storia di Safiya e' simile a quella di molte altre donne oppresse dalla miseria e dal sistema patriarcale. Sposata a 12 anni con un ragazzo di un villaggio vicino, Yusuf Ibrahimi, dopo sette anni fu ripudiata. Poi altri due matrimoni, l'ultimo finito con un divorzio nel 1998.

   Per difendersi dall'accusa di adulterio, in un primo momento la donna aveva accusato un amico del padre di averla violentata.

In seguito i suoi legali avevano cambiato linea difensiva: il padre di Adama e' l'ultimo marito di Safiya, avevano detto. La giovane nigeriana avrebbe potuto essere assolta anche in base a questa versione, in quanto una donna non puo' essere considerata adultera se mette al mondo un figlio con il suo ex marito entro un periodo di tempo che puo' arrivare a sette anni dopo lo scioglimento del vincolo. L'ultimo marito si era detto pronto a testimoniare durante il processo d'appello.

   La mobilitazione internazionale per salvare Safiya -  che ha visto l'Unione europea e specie l'Italia in prima linea - ha scosso la Nigeria, un Paese di 120 milioni di persone spesso teatro di sanguinosi scontri tra cristiani e musulmani. Lo stesso presidente, il cristiano Olusegun Obasanjo, si e' adoperato per far assolvere la giovane donna e, nel timore dell'isolamento internazionale, nei giorni scorsi il ministero della giustizia ha dichiarato contraria alla costituzione la legge islamica applicata negli Stati settentrionali.

Nigeria acquits adultery defendant

25/03/02

SOKOTO (NIGERIA)

Safiya Husseini became pregnant outside marriage

A court in Nigeria has upheld the appeal of a Muslim woman who had been convicted of adultery under Islamic law and sentenced to death by stoning.

Others have committed worse crimes, but because they are men, and because they have influence in high places, they are not punished

Safiya Husaini

Safiya Husaini won her case after the court in the northern town of Sokoto said the original ruling was unsound.

In the courtroom, Safiya, smiling broadly, was surrounded by the world's media holding her one-year-old daughter in her arms.

It was the conception of this child out of wedlock that had been proof enough at the first trial of her adultery.

But in Monday's ruling, the judge said that, because the alleged act had taken place before adultery became a criminal offence under Islamic law, the case should be dismissed.

The BBC Lagos correspondent Dan Isaacs says the ruling will be welcomed by human rights groups around the world.

Nigerian Sharia Court Frees Woman in Stoning Case

Mar 25, 2002

By Emmanuel Braun

SOKOTO, Nigeria  - A Nigerian mother who had been sentenced to die by stoning was freed Monday -- but almost immediately afterwards officials revealed another woman has received the same sentence.

The case of 35-year-old Safiya Hussaini Tungar-Tudu, who was condemned to death by a sharia court for adultery, had sparked international outrage.

Even as the mother of five smiled with relief in the northern city of Sokoto, officials said that Friday another woman had been sentenced to death by stoning for having sex outside marriage in the village of Bakori in Katsina state.

Amina Lawal Kurami was charged with having a baby out of wedlock. "The sentence was based on her own confession and the evidence of the baby she had," an official told Reuters by telephone. She has 30 days to challenge the sentence.

"The man she said lured her into having sex denied it," the official said.

The judge acquitted the man because she could not produce four witnesses as demanded by the Islamic penal code, but ordered that the death sentence should be delayed for eight months to allow Amina to breastfeed her baby.

A series of sharia court sentences have inflamed religious tempers in Africa's most populous nation, where hundreds have died in ethnic and religious bloodletting in recent years.

In the first case, the sharia appeal court in Sokoto overruled a lower court on procedural grounds and because Hussaini had been convicted under a law that did not exist when the alleged offence was committed.

"Today I am happy. I thank God," a delighted Hussaini told reporters as she cradled her one-year-old daughter. The ruling had been widely expected to go in her favor.

Hussaini was sentenced last October after she asked the court to force a man she said raped her to pay for her daughter's naming ceremony. The court dismissed charges against him, citing a lack of evidence as she was the only witness.

RELIGIOUS DIVIDE

Fearing international isolation, Nigeria's government ordered states applying the strict Islamic sharia law last week to modify harsh sanctions such as stoning to death for adulterers and the severing of hands for theft.

Nigeria's more than 110 million people are split roughly in half between Muslims, who dominate the north, and Christians and animists who live in greater numbers in the south.

Rights group Amnesty International had submitted a petition with more than 600,000 signatures of people opposed to the stoning death sentence on Hussaini. The European Union last week urged Nigeria to fully respect human rights and dignity.

Sokoto State's governor told a news conference that Monday's ruling was "a vindication of the sharia legal system."

"We believe in the ability of the sharia court to discharge and dispense justice to all and sundry," said Attahiru Bafarawa, blaming pressure from human rights groups for prolonging the case and saying they needed a better understanding of sharia.

The Rome-based Sant'Egidio Community, which promotes peace, joined Catholic Archbishop of Lagos Anthony Okogie in welcoming the judgement.

"It is a decisive ruling that can save the lives of other women still at risk of death by stoning," it said.

Germany Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Hussaini's acquittal was a "victory for justice and humanity."

NEW STONING SENTENCE

The adoption of sharia penal code by about a dozen states in predominantly Islamic northern Nigeria has dangerously polarized the volatile country and stoked sectarian violence.

Non-Muslims oppose sharia because of its tough sanctions.

In January, Sani Rodi was hanged in northwestern Katsina state for multiple murder in the first sharia execution.

But the stoning to death of a woman for adultery would have had much greater potential for re-igniting the sectarian bloodletting that has raged since military rule ended in 1999.

"The import of the ruling is that it will now dawn on the sharia states that they cannot implement the system in isolation," said Segun Jegede of the Campaign for Democracy and Human Rights, based in the southwestern city of Lagos.

"We still need to mount more pressure against the use of sharia in criminal matters in this modern age and time."

Nigeria heeft al ,,nieuwe Safiya''
Nieuwe terdoodveroordeling door steniging op basis van sharia

26/03/2002

ABUJA (reuters, eigen berichtgeving) -- Een sharia-rechtbank in de noordelijke Nigeriaanse stad Sokoto sprak Safiya Husseini (35) gisteren in beroep vrij van overspel. Daardoor ontsnapt ze aan dood door steniging. Maar intussen veroordeelde een sharia-rechtbank een andere vrouw -- Amina Lawal -- in de deelstaat Katsina om dezelfde reden tot dezelfde straf.

Het waren een slimme advocatenstreek en enorme internationale druk die Safiya Husseini vrij kregen.

In oktober vorig jaar was de vrouw veroordeeld tot de dood door steniging omdat ze als gescheiden vrouw een dochtertje had gekregen door een verkrachting. Gisteren pakte ze in beroep haar verdediging anders aan. Ze vertelde niet langer dat ze werd verkracht. Haar dochtertje Adama zou in feite het kind zijn van haar derde (ex-)man, van wie ze meer dan twee jaar geleden scheidde. Om haar te redden van de steniging, had die man trouwens aangeboden haar opnieuw tot vrouw te nemen.

De sharia aanvaardt tot zeven jaar na een scheiding dat er kinderen worden geboren, zonder dat er sprake is van buitenechtelijke seks. Die embryo's liggen dan zogenaamd te ,,slapen'' in de baarmoeder. Die advocatentruc leidde eerder al tot een vrijspraak voor een ander Nigeriaans sharia-hof. De sharia-rechtbank aanvaardde gisteren ook het argument dat ,,de feiten'' plaatsvonden v��r Sokoto de sharia invoerde.

De uitspraak viel niet onverwacht. Uit vrees voor een internationale veroordeling, had de Nigeriaanse regering in een brief aan de gouverneurs van 19 noordelijke staten laten weten dat de toepassing van de sharia de grondwet schendt. In die deelstaten is de moslimbevolking in de meerderheid. In 12 ervan werd sinds begin 2000 de sharia ingesteld. Sinds de invoering van de sharia twee jaar geleden zijn de spanningen tussen moslims en christenen aanzienlijk toegenomen, met minstens 3.000 doden tot gevolg.

Het lot van Safiya Husseini lokte internationale verontwaardiging uit. De mensenrechtengroepering Amnesty International verzamelde meer dan 600.000 handtekeningen op een petitie. De Europese Unie riep Nigeria vorige week op om de mensenrechten te respecteren.

,,Dit is een belangrijke overwinning voor vrouwen en een nederlaag voor de doodstraf, die verder gaat dan het leven van Safiya'', verklaarde de Sant'Egidio Gemeenschap. ,,Het gaat om een beslissende uitspraak die de levens kan redden van andere vrouwen die nog dreigen gedood te worden door steniging.''

Maar het nieuws van de vrijspraak van Safiya Husseini -- ,,Vandaag ben ik blij. Ik dank God.'' -- werd enkele uren later gevolgd door een ander bericht. In het afgelegen dorpje Bakori in de deelstaat Katsina veroordeelde een sharia-rechtbank vrijdag Amina Lawal tot de dood door steniging omdat ze een buitenechtelijk kind heeft. ,,De straf was gebaseerd op haar eigen bekentenis en het bewijs van de baby die ze heeft'', verklaarde een functionaris over de telefoon aan het persbureau Reuters.

Amina verklaarde voor de rechter dat een man haar verleid had om seks te hebben. Maar die man ontkende. En de vrouw slaagde er niet in om de vier getuigen aan te brengen die de sharia voor zedendelicten vereist. De rechter stelde de uitvoering van het doodvonnis wel met acht maanden uit, om Amina toe te laten haar kind borstvoeding te geven. Ze heeft dertig dagen om in beroep te gaan.

25 mars 2002

Jugements contradictoires pour des cas d'adult�re au Nigeria

Par Emmanuel Braun

SOKOTO, Nigeria  - Apr�s le toll� suscit� dans le monde entier par le jugement, un tribunal islamique nig�rian a relax� en appel une m�re de 35 ans condamn�e en premi�re instance � la peine de mort par lapidation pour adult�re.

Cependant, au moment o� Safiya Hussaini Tungar-Tudu, m�re de cinq enfants, retrouvait le sourire � Sokoto, des nouvelles en provenance du Nord du Nigeria indiquaient qu'une autre femme avait �t� condamn�e � �tre ex�cut�e par lapidation pour adult�re dans un village isol� d'un autre Etat du m�me pays.

Une s�rie de condamnations prononc�es par ces tribunaux islamiques, mis en place apr�s l'adoption de la charia dans plusieurs Etats � majorit� musulmane du Nord du pays ces derni�res ann�es, ont raviv� les violences religieuses entre musulmans et chr�tiens qui �clatent p�riodiquement au Nigeria.

La cour d'appel islamique de Sokoto a annul� pour vice de proc�dure le verdict pris � l'encontre d'Hussaini.

La d�fense avait fait valoir que la loi sur laquelle s'�tait fond�e la condamnation en premi�re instance n'existait pas au moment des faits reproch�s. Elle remettait aussi en cause la comp�tence du tribunal.

En janvier dernier d�j�, une Nig�riane de 18 ans �galement accus�e d'adult�re avait �t� acquitt�e en premi�re instance par un tribunal de Sokoto.

"Aujourd'hui, je suis heureuse. Je remercie Dieu", a d�clar� Hussaini, en ber�ant dans ses bras sa fille �g�e de un an.

L'acquittement �tait assez largement attendu, le gouvernement, dans un souci d'apaisement diplomatique, ayant ordonn� la semaine derni�re � la douzaine d'Etats appliquant la charia, ou loi islamique, de renoncer aux sanctions telles que la lapidation ou l'amputation.

Le pays le plus peupl� d'Afrique (110 millions d'habitants) est, grosso-modo, divis� en deux. Les musulmans sont majoritaires dans le Nord, tandis que la plus grande partie de la population du sud est animiste ou chr�tienne.

"JUGEMENT DETERMINANT"

Le gouverneur de l'Etat o� se trouve Sokoto, Attahiru Bafarawa, a jug� que le jugement de lundi �tait une justification de la charia. Il a ajout� que l'affaire montrait que la loi islamique devait �tre mieux expliqu�e aux organisations de d�fense des droits de l'homme.

Amnesty International avait r�colt� plus de 600.000 signatures dans une p�tition s'opposant � la condamnation de Safiya Hussaini. L'Union europ�enne avait de son c�t� exhort� le Nigeria � respecter pleinement les droits et la dignit� humaines - faisant allusion aux femmes en particulier.

"Nous devons continuer � faire monter la pression contre l'utilisation de la charia dans les affaires criminelles dans cette �poque moderne", a jug� � Lagos Segun Sejede, de la Campagne pour la d�mocratie et les droits de l'homme.

"C'est un jugement d�terminant qui peut sauver les vies d'autres femmes qui risquent toujours la mort par lapidation", a d�clar� la Communaut� Sant'Egidio, groupe pacifiste romain.

Cependant, au m�me moment des informations en provenance du village de Bakori, dans l'Etat de Katsina, annon�aient qu'une autre femme, Amina Lawal Kurami, avait �t� condamn�e vendredi � �tre ex�cut�e par lapidation, pour avoir eu un enfant naturel.

Un responsable a d�clar� � Reuters par t�l�phone que la jeune femme �tait pass�e aux aveux et que le b�b� constituait une preuve. En outre, l'homme qui l'avait, selon elle, charm� a d�menti. Il a �t� acquitt�, car Amina n'avait pas pu pr�senter quatre t�moins comme l'exige la charia, a ajout� le responsable.

Elle a trente jours pour faire appel et son ex�cution a �t� report�e de huit mois pour qu'elle puisse donner le sein � son b�b�.

En janvier, Sani Rodi a �t� le premier Nig�rian � �tre ex�cut� en vertu de la charia. Il a �t� pendu dans l'Etat de Katsina, dans le nord-ouest du pays, pour avoir commis plusieurs meurtres.

NIGERIA: Woman spared Nigeria stoning death

A Nigerian mother sentenced to death by stoning has had her sentence quashed.

A sharia appeals court overturned a lower court ruling on technical grounds, the woman's lawyer told CNN.

The lower court in the northwestern state of Sokoto had sentenced Safiya Husaini, 35, to be stoned to death on a charge of adultery.

Sokoto is 1 of 12 states in the West African country that operate under sharia, or Islamic, law. There are 36 states in Nigeria.

Reports say the woman won the appeal because the alleged adultery was committed before the sharia law was instituted in Sokoto. It is not yet known if the prosecution will continue to pursue this case.

Husaini, who is divorced, said she plans to marry the father of the child she gave birth to out of wedlock 10 months ago.

Human rights and women's groups in Nigeria and throughout the world have campaigned against the death sentence. There is also a debate about the legality and justice of sharia law.

Tensions and violence between Muslims and Christians in northern Nigeria have been blamed in part on the imposition of sharia.

Not long after the news came of Husaini's acquittal, another divorced woman in the northern Nigerian state of Katsina was sentenced to death on a charge of adultery by another Islamic court.

Earlier this month, fearing international isolation if harsh Islamic sharia law continues, Nigeria's justice minister Godwin Agabi ordered states to modify the penalties.

Agabi said in a letter to states that his office had been inundated by "hundreds of letters which I receive daily from all over the world protesting the discriminatory punishments now imposed by some sharia courts.

"As a respected member of the world community we cannot be indifferent to these protests."

Agabi said the imposition of harsher punishment on Muslims than prescribed under Nigerian law was discriminatory, unconstitutional and a threat to national unity.

Sharia was introduced to northern states in the country of 110 million people in 1999.