No alla Pena di Morte - NO to the Death penalty

KATSINA (NIGERIA), 27 AGO - Il verdetto del processo d'appello per Amina Lawal, condannata alla lapidazione per avere avuto un figlio fuori del matrimonio, e' stato aggiornato al 25 settembre, ha deciso la corte d'appello di Katsina (nord della Nigeria). Il 25 settembre e' la data in cui il precedente processo aveva fissato l'esecuzione della

KATSINA, Nigeria - A Nigerian Islamic court said it would pass judgement in the case of Amina Lawal, a single mother who has been sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery, in four weeks time.

Lawal, a 31-year-old village housewife, will learn next month whether her appeal has been successful or whether she could still become the first Nigerian to be stoned since the return of Sharia law.

"The court has heard both sides in this case and hereby adjourns until September 25 for judgement," said trial judge, Grand Khadi Aminu Ibrahim, the highest Islamic legal authority in Lawal's home state, Katsina.

Earlier the Katsina Sharia Appeal Court had heard Lawal's defence team argue that her first trial and her first, failed appeal had been unfair.

As Lawal and her baby Wasila left the court to return with family members to her home village of Kurami, her lawyer and friend Hauwa Ibrahim was confident that her life would be saved.

"We are very hopeful that we are going to win," she said after the hearing, noting that the judges had extended the court's normal sitting hours to allow Lawal's appeal hearing to finish in good time.

And the chief prosecutor, Nurulhuda Mahmud, appeared to be preparing the ground for his possible defeat at next month's hearing.

"Our prayer to this court is to accept our explanation ... and order that the sentence be upheld. However, Sharia is not bent on passing death sentences," he told reporters after the hearing.

"If this court finds any doubt in the proceedings that should be enough to save Amina from execution." he said.

Under Sharia, a person who has sex outside of marriage can be found guilty of adultery, and thus face death.

Last year Lawal was denounced by fellow villagers in the Katsina farming community of Kurami after she gave birth to Wasila more than two years after splitting from her husband.

She was convicted in March last year and lost her first appeal in August, instantly becoming an international cause.

Her photo made front pages worldwide and her case inspired e-mail campaigns, candle-lit vigils and protests against the alleged brutality of what many regard as Sharia's archaic and harsh punishments.

But defence counsel Aliyu Musa Yawuri has opted to challenge her conviction under the terms of Sharia, not to fight the controversial legal system itself.

He argued that the village court which convicted her had not properly explained the offence nor its consequences before her alleged confession.

He also said that the baby had been conceived before Sharia law formally came into force in Katsina State.

Lawal gave birth on January 6 of last year, more than two years after her divorce but only six-and-a-half months after Katsina formally reinstituted Sharia.

The prosecutor contested this argument, saying that although Sharia was incorporated into state law on June 20, 2002, an interim declaration of the law had been made in August 2000.

The defence also argued that, under Islamic law, the pregnancy could have been the result of a so-called "sleeping embryo".

"Amina gave birth within two years of divorce, so the presumption is that the child belongs to her former husband," Yawuri said, arguing that Sharia holds that an embryo can lie dormant for up to five years.

Again, Nurulhuda rejected the argument, saying that it was up to Lawal to prove the sleeping embryo claim, which had not been part of her defence when she had confessed below a lower court.

Around 35 armed police were deployed around the building, but there was no sign of disturbances outside.

Amina sat impassively through most of the proceedings cradling baby Wasila, but she appeared close to tears when press photographers crowded in, and family members said the young Muslim woman was under severe stress.

"Amina is deeply worried. Sometimes she can't even eat. She's anxious to see the end of this case so that she can marry and have a normal life," said the defendant's uncle, 50-year-old farmer Magaji Liman.

Lawal's case has become an embarrassment for Nigeria's secular federal government and for President Olusegun Obasanjo, who has tried to reassure rights activists without offending the Muslims who make up 50 percent of the citizens of Africa's most populous nation.

No one has yet been stoned to death since 12 mainly Muslim northern states seized upon the end of military rule in 1999 to begin invoking Islamic law for the first time since the west African country won independence in 1960.

ROMA, 27 AGO - ''Stiamo seguendo da vicino il processo di Amina, perche' questa citta', che ha concesso la cittadinanza a Safya, guarda alla vicenda con grandissima preoccupazione e attesa''. Il sindaco di Roma, Walter Veltroni, ha auspicato ''che la giustizia nigeriana non proceda per la condanna alla lapidazione, che - ha detto - consideriamo un atto assolutamente inumano e inaccettabile. E' quanto ho detto all' ambasciatore nigeriano a Roma, trovando da lui sensibilita' e attenzione''.

Recentemente, per seguire la vicenda di Amina, si e' recata in Nigeria l'assessore capitolino Mariella Gramaglia.

ROMA, 27 AGO - Amina Lawall dovra' aspettare ancora un mese per sapere quale sara' la sua sorte. La corte d'appello dello stato nigeriano di Katsina (nord) che ha iniziato oggi, dopo diversi rinvii, il processo sul suo ricorso contro la condanna alla lapidazione per adulterio, ha rimandatO ogni decisione al prossimo 25 settembre, proprio il giorno in cui sarebbe dovuta avvenire la sua messa a morte.

Durante l'udienza se ne era stata in un'angolo, con la sua bimba, Kurami, di un anno e mezzo in braccio, la prova vivente della colpa. Era tesissima, si guardava intorno, guardava i suoi avvocati, i giudici, tutta la gente tra cui osservatori internazionali accorsi nell'aula che decidera' della sua vita e nella quale ha luogo un altro braccio di ferro tra le autorita' federali nigeriane, contrarie alla pena di morte e preoccupate dell'immagine internazionale del paese, e quelle locali, integraliste islamiche, che attraverso l'imposizione della sharia, la legge islamica reintrodotta in 12 stati su 36 nel 2000, vogliono affermare la loro indipendenza dal governo centrale. Finora, comunque, nessuna condanna a morte e' stata eseguita, e forse il rinvio non e' un cattivo segno per la donna.

Amina, 31 anni, donna di campagna analfabeta e disoccupata, e' stata condannata ad essere lapidata il prossimo 25 settembre perche' dopo il divorzio da suo marito al quale ha dato due figli e' finita tra le braccia di un altro uomo che le ha promesso di sposarla, l'ha messa incinta, e poi non ha mantenuto la promessa. Adesso, dice, ha un pretendente, un uomo che vuole sposarla: se non sara' messa a morte, ricomincera' una vita normale.

Nonostante una forte pressione internazionale, Amina non ha avuto finora la stessa fortuna di Safiya Hussaini Tungar Tudu, l'altra nigeriana condannata per adulterio e poi graziata dopo una mobilitazione enorme dell'opinione pubblica mondiale. E neppure la stessa fortuna dell'unico uomo finora condannato alla lapidazione per adulterio, Sarimu Mohamed, la cui condanna e' stata annullata otto giorni fa. Su di lei incombe ancora lo spettro della lapidazione: e' la sharia che lo prevede.

In teoria sia per gli uomini che per le donne adulteri, in realta' con probabilita' e modalita' assai diverse. Per l'uomo occorrono quattro testimonianze oculari perche' egli sia condannato, per la donna la gravidanza e' in se' una prova.

L'uomo condannato viene 'interrato' fino alla cintola, la donna fino al collo prima di essere lapidata con pietre ne' troppo grandi ne' troppo piccole, insomma che non uccidano subito: e per la legge islamica, chi riesca a divincolarsi e scappare durante l'esecuzione viene graziato per sempre. Cosa mai possibile se si l'intero corpo, tranne la testa, e' sepolto.

Il gran khadi Aminu Ibrahim, la massima autorita' islamica di questo stato aveva detto in apertura di seduta che occorre far presto , che ''e' giusto che Amina conosca la sua sorte''.

''Sara' lapidata o sara' lasciata libera'', ha affermato, ''non e' bene far durare ancora l'attesa. Cosi' non e' stato. Sentite le parti - gli avvocati della donna cercano di convincere la corte che, nel quadro dell'applicazione della legge islamica, sono stati commessi errori di fondo e procedurali - ha preso un mese di tempo.

Il caso Amina mette seriamente in imbarazzo il governo federale del presidente nigeriano Olusegun Obasanjo, stretto tra le pressioni internazionali e la popolazione musulmana che rappresenta quasi la meta' dei 120 milioni di nigeriani.

Obasanjo, che ha promesso che le corti di appello federali annulleranno ogni condanna a morte per lapidazione, spera tuttavia che i giudici islamici di Katsina assolvano Amina prima che la procedura arrivi a livello federale.

An Islamic appeal court in northern Nigeria said on Wednesday it would rule on 25 September whether a young mother sentenced to death by stoning for adultery should be executed.

Amina Lawal, 32, was sentenced to death by a lower Shari'ah or Islamic court in March last year after she had a baby out of wedlock. She was convicted under the strict religious penal code adopted by a dozen states in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north over the past four years.

The lower court ruled that Lawal should be stoned to death after she had weaned her baby, which is now 20 months old. The man who she said was responsible for making her pregnant was acquitted after he swore by the Koran that it was not him.

The death sentence was confirmed by an upper Shari'ah court in August 2002, prompting an appeal to Katsina state's highest appeal court.

The case has caused global outrage, with human rights and women activists launching a worldwide campaign to save Lawal's life.

After several postponements, Lawal's appeal was concluded before the Katsina Shari'ah Court of Appeal on Wednesday.

"This case has been prolonged," presiding judge or Grand Khadi Aminu Ibrahim, said as the defence and prosecution readied their arguments in the court room, which was packed with foreign and Nigerian journalists. "It is not good to keep her in suspense for so long."

Making the case for Lawal's acquittal, Aliyu Musa Yawuri, the chief defence lawyer, argued that she became pregnant before Shari'ah law came into force in Katsina state. He also pointed out that the court which originally convicted her did not explain her offence and the likely penalty for it before she was said to have confessed.

The defence further argued that under Islamic law some pregnancies could take five years to gestate. This meant that Lawal's baby might technically have been created by her former husband, from whom she became divorced two years earlier.

Mohammed Darma, the lead prosecuting lawyer, insisted as the prosecution had always done in this case, that the fact the Lawal was divorced when she became pregnant was adequate evidence of her guilt.

Whatever ruling is given on 25 September could still be challenged by either the defence or the prosecution at the Federal Court of Appeal, and in the last resort at the Supreme Court.

Lawal is one of five people who have been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery by Islamic courts in northern Nigeria in the past three years.

Safiya Husseini Tunga Dudu, who also had a baby out of wedlock, was finally acquitted on 19 March last year, the same day that Lawal received her sentence.

Sarimu Mohammed Baranda, a 54-year-old man sentenced to death for raping a nine-year-old, girl was reprieved on appeal last week after pleading insanity.

A couple in Niger State is also appealing against a death sentence handed down for adultery.

President Olusegun Obasanjo's government has condemned the application of Sharia'h punishments on the grounds that they contravene Nigeria's constitution. It has said that it will not allow stoning sentences to be carried out.

However, the government says it is constrained to intervene at the present stage by the country's federal structure, under which the 36 states have the autonomy to enact their own laws.

The introduction of strict Sharia'h law has increased tensions between the country's Muslim north and Chrisitian-dominated south, leading to outbreaks of sectarian violence in which thousands of people have died.

ï¿½ stato rinviato al prossimo 25 settembre il verdetto del processo d'appello di Amina Lawal, la donna condannata a morte per lapidazione da un tribunale islamico per aver avuto una figlia al di fuori del matrimonio. La decisione ï¿½ stata presa ieri dalla Corte islamica d'appello di Katsina, il capoluogo dellï¿½omonimo Stato del nord della Nigeria, al termine di un'intera giornata trascorsa in aula. Il tribunale islamico aveva giï¿½ rinviato due volte l'appello. Oggi Aminu Ibrahim, la massima autoritï¿½ islamica dello Stato di Katsina, aveva detto che ''ï¿½ giusto che Amina conosca la sua sorte''. Sentite le parti perï¿½ ha preso ancora un mese di tempo. Gli avvocati della difesa sostengono, infatti, che nel quadro dell'applicazione della legge islamica (Sharï¿½a) siano stati commessi errori di fondo e procedurali. La riapertura del processo di appello coincide con la data in cui il tribunale di primo grado aveva fissato la lapidazione della donna. Nella cittadina settentrionale nigeriana sono accorsi numerosi osservatori internazionali, alcuni avvocati e moltissimi giornalisti, pronti a seguire il ricorso contro la condanna decretata nel marzo dello scorso anno. Da quando la sharï¿½a ï¿½ stata introdotta nei 12 Stati del nord della Nigeria a prevalenza musulmana nessuna condanna a morte ï¿½ mai stata eseguita.

Tears of fright in her eyes, a 32-year-old Nigerian single mother cuddled and nursed her young daughter in a sweltering Islamic appeals court Wednesday as lawyers pleaded she be spared death by stoning for bearing the child out of wedlock.

Heavily veiled and draped, Amina Lawal appeared overwhelmed by the crush of riot police, journalists and rights workers as she arrived for a case that has sparked international campaigns on her behalf.

"I've never been this afraid," Lawal said, tears rolling down her downcast face as she made her way past riot police ringing the courthouse in northern Nigeria's Katsina state. "I'm tired of all this."

In her arms, daughter Wasila, whose birth brought Lawal's death sentence for adultery, stared wide-eyed up at her mother.

Lawal is the best known of three people awaiting stoning sentences in a dozen northern Nigerian states that have adopted Islamic law, or Shariah.

2 other condemned already have been given clemency; no stoning sentence has yet been carried out.

Introduction of Islamic law has heightened Muslim-Christian tensions in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation. Heightened religious, ethnic and political violence has claimed at least 10,000 lives since President Olusegun Obasanjo's 1999 election ended 15 years of repressive military juntas.

An Islamic court convicted Lawal in March 2002 following the birth of her baby, more than 2 years after Lawal and her husband divorced.

Judges ordered her buried up to her neck in sand and stoned. While appeals continue, courts have ordered Lawal's execution postponed until her child -- now nearly 2 -- is weaned.

The alleged father of the baby denied responsibility and was acquitted. On Wednesday, Shariah court prosecutor Nurulhuda Mohammad Darma argued Lawal's pregnancy and divorced status were "enough evidence" that adultery had been committed.

However, in closing remarks, Darma said the prosecution "would not object if the court finds a good reason to set Amina free."

He told journalists later that the prosecution would drop the case if Lawal wins this appeal.

Defense lawyer Aminu Musa Yawuri urged judges to acquit Lawal, arguing that an earlier confession was invalid because no one had explained to Lawal -- a poor, uneducated woman from a farming family -- the nature of the offense or the punishment.

Yawuri also contended that under some interpretations of Shariah law, babies can remain in gestation in their mother's womb for up to 5 years, making it possible under Islam that her ex-husband could have fathered the child.

"I expect an acquittal," head defense lawyer Hauwa Ibrahim told reporters later. "In case that does not happen, we are prepared for the worst. We will go up to the Supreme Court."

Katsina state authorities have insisted the case go through the Shariah appeals process despite requests by Nigeria's federal government that Lawal be freed.

"Amina is very worried. Sometimes she can't eat," Lawal's uncle, 50-year-old Magaji Liman, told journalists before the hearing opened.

"She wants to see the end of this case so that she can marry and have a normal life," Liman said.

As the case began in a stifling court room, Lawal appeared distracted from proceedings, calmly nursing and playing with her gurgling toddler.

She rarely watched the lawyers, at one point falling asleep with her toddler also nodding off in her arms.

Nearly an hour into the hearing, the chief judge, or Grand Khadi, Aminu Ibrahim, warned the dozen or more volunteer and charity-appointed attorneys clamoring to give arguments on Lawal's behalf not to dally.

"It is not good ... to keep her fate in the balance any further," Ibrahim said, prompting Lawal to gaze up briefly at the judge.