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ISLAMIC NIGERIAN COURT SENTENCES WOMAN TO DEATH BY STONING
BY SYED ADEEB
WASHINGTON, DC, USA, 27 August 2002 (InfoTimes.net): U.S.
Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) introduced her Concurrent
Resolution 351 on 14 March 2002 in the House, which expresses the
sense of Congress that the United States should condemn the barbaric
practice of execution by stoning as a gross violation of human rights
and should call upon all countries of the world to recognize such
evil practice as a major abuse of civil rights.
The H. Con. Res. 351, co-sponsored by 48 Democratic and Republican
Members of the U.S. Congress, which was referred to the House
Committee on International Relations and the Subcommittee on
International Operations and Human Rights on 25 July 2002, is based
on the following points:
(1) Death by stoning is a punishment formerly imposed in Afghanistan
under the Taliban regime, and has been documented as a punishment in
Nigeria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, according to
the U.S. Department of State Reports on Human Rights Practices.
(2) The brutal sentence of death by stoning is applied to women who
have been accused of adultery, coerced into prostitution, or even
raped.
(3) Execution by stoning is an exceptionally cruel form of punishment
that violates internationally accepted standards of human rights,
including those set forth in the United Nations Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and the United Nations Convention Against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
(4) Women around the world continue to be targeted for
discriminatory, inhuman and cruel punishments by governments who
refuse to protect the rights of all of their citizens equally.
(5) Safiya Hussaini stands convicted of adultery and has been
sentenced to death by stoning in the State of Sokoto, Nigeria, based
solely on the evidence that she was divorced and pregnant, despite
her claim that she was a victim of rape, and the fact that she has
since given birth to the child.
The McCollum Resolution states that the U.S. House of
Representatives, the U.S. Senate and the United States Administration
should "condemn the practice of execution by stoning, and should call
upon the international community to recognize this practice as a
gross violation of human rights; the President [George W. Bush]
should formally communicate this sense of Congress to governments
imposing this cruel punishment; and the President should urge
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to immediately suspend the
sentence of death by stoning imposed on Safiya Hussaini and take
steps to ensure that Nigeria acts in accordance with international
human rights standards."
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH LETTER TO NIGERIAN PRESIDENT
Two Human Rights Watch (HRW) officials -- LaShawn R. Jefferson,
Executive Director, Women's Rights Division and Peter Takirambudde,
Executive Director, Africa Division -- in their joint letter of 23
October 2001 to Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote:
"We are writing to express our deep concern over a ruling by
an 'Islamic court' in northern Nigeria that sentenced Safiya Hussaini
Tungar-Tudu to death by stoning after finding her guilty of pre-
marital sex. We urge you to intervene on her behalf to prevent this
cruel and inhuman punishment from being meted out against her."
HRW pointed out to the President of Nigeria that the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Nigeria ratified in
July 1993, strictly prohibits the imposition of capital punishment on
a pregnant woman.
"The cornerstone of human rights is respect for the inherent dignity
of all human beings and the inviolability of the human person. These
principles cannot be reconciled with the death penalty, a form of
punishment that is unique in its barbarity and finality," the HRW
said.
Human Rights Watch urged the Nigerian ruler to ensure that this cruel
and inhuman sentence of judicial murder by stoning is not carried
out. HRW also urged Obasanjo to monitor all courts in Nigeria,
including 'Sharia Courts', to ensure that the courts operate in
accordance with international human rights law and the bill of rights
in Nigeria's own Constitution.
HRW has revealed that Ms. Hussaini's conviction for the sin and crime
of adultery or fornication is the second one to be reported in
northern Nigeria. In September 2000, an 'Islamic Court' in the
northern state of Zamfara sentenced Bariya Ibrahim Magazu, a teenage
girl, to 180 lashes for pre-marital sex and bringing false charges
against men with whom she allegedly had sex. Despite protests by
international and Nigerian human rights groups against her sentence,
Nigerian officials authorized the flogging of Ms. Magazu. Even though
her appeal remained pending, the sentence was carried out; she was
lashed one hundred times on 19 January 2001, according to the Human
Rights Watch.
After the McCollum Resolution was submitted in the House, the 'Sharia
Court of Appeals' of Sokoto State, in northern Nigeria, acted
positively on Safiya Yakubu Hussaini's appeal against her sentence of
stoning to death for the crime of adultery and ordered her acquittal.
Safiya was condemned to the death penalty on 9 October 2001 in
a 'Sharia Court' in Gwadabawa, Sokoto State. In their joint press
statement of 25 March 2002, Amnesty International and Baobab for
Women's Human Rights welcomed the decision by the 'Sharia Court of
Appeals'.
NIGERIAN COURT OF APPEALS SANCTIONS MURDER BY STONING
However, in an unjust, unfair and cruel decision of 19 August 2002,
another 'Sharia Court of Appeals' in Funtua, Katsina State, Nigeria,
has upheld the sentence of death by stoning imposed on Amina Lawal, a
30-year-old Nigerian woman accused of giving birth to a child out of
wedlock. The 'Islamic Government' used her pregnancy as evidence of
her having committed adultery or sex outside marriage. Ms. Lawal now
has an eight-month-old child.
Amnesty International, in its press statement of 20 August 2002, has
stated: "Lawal was originally sentenced to death on March 22, 2002,
after confessing to sexual relations with a man other than her
husband (adultery is a crime punishable by death under Quran-
based 'Shariah Law' currently applicable to Nigeria's majority Muslim
northern states). While charges against the alleged father of the
child have been dropped, the religious Court of Appeals yesterday
stood firm on Lawal's death sentence despite international protests."
"This judgment is incompatible with the Nigerian Constitution and
also with Nigeria's legal obligations under international human
rights law and the African Charter for Human and People Rights,"
Amnesty International said, noting that the practice of stoning to
death is a cruel form of torture prohibited by both the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against
Torture. Amnesty International is strongly opposed to the death
penalty in all circumstances on the grounds that it represents the
ultimate inhuman and degrading punishment and violates the right to
life.
Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have strongly
condemned the stoning sentence for Amina Lawal and blasted the 19
August ruling by a Nigerian Court of Appeals to uphold the verdict of
death by stoning of Ms. Lawal for adultery as a cruel and inhuman
application of 'Sharia (Islamic) Law'. Over the past year, according
to the Human Rights Watch, some northern Nigerian states have
increasingly applied 'Sharia Law' to criminal cases, among them
theft, adultery and fornication. Consequently, Nigerian 'Sharia
Courts' have ordered amputations of hands as punishment for theft and
death penalty by stoning for adultery or fornication cases. To date,
no stoning sentence has been carried out. The two human rights
organizations have urged the Nigerian Government to drop the criminal
charges against Amina and commute her death sentence.
Amnesty International USA has urged the American citizens to speak
out and take action against state oppression, violence, torture,
rape, persecution, draconian laws and discrimination against women in
Nigeria by sending a message to their Representatives and Senators
asking them to co-sponsor and pass the H. Con. Res. 351.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL LETTER
Here is a sample Amnesty International letter for U.S. Congress
Members:
Please Condemn Stoning of Women in Nigeria by Co-Sponsoring and
Approving House Concurrent Resolution 351.
I am writing to express my concern about the impact on the protection
of human rights by the introduction of the new 'Sharia-based Penal
Codes' in Northern Nigeria. These new codes establish the death
penalty for crimes such as adultery and introduce cruel, inhuman and
degrading punishments such as flogging and amputation. I respectfully
ask you to co-sponsor House Congressional Resolution 351, a
resolution introduced by Representative McCollum of Minnesota,
currently in the House of Representatives that condemns the practice
of death by stoning as well as other acts that constitute torture and
unfairly discriminate against women.
These punishments are in breach of international human rights
standards and violate international human rights instruments signed
and ratified by the Nigerian Government.
I urge you and your colleagues in Congress to stand up and oppose
these practices and send a clear message to the Nigerian Government
that it has an obligation to protect and up hold the rights of all of
its citizens, no matter what gender or religion they are.
Please support House Congressional Resolution 351.
Human rights defenders and concerned citizens may visit the
http://www.Congress.org Website to e-mail the above letter to U.S.
lawmakers.
LIST OF 49 SPONSORS OF H. CON. RES. 351
Let's hope the U.S. House of Representatives will pass the House
Concurrent Resolution 351, which has been sponsored by the following
49 U.S. legislators, to condemn, speak out and act against state
terrorism, religious/dogmatic fanaticism and barbarism of the corrupt
and tyrannical barbarians who impose and enforce evil laws and
barbaric punishments on the human nation like the deputies of Satan:
1. Rep. McCollum, Betty
2. Rep Abercrombie, Neil
3. Rep Allen, Thomas H.
4. Rep Baldwin, Tammy
5. Rep Blagojevich, Rod R.
6. Rep Capps, Lois
7. Rep Carson, Julia
8. Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy
9. Rep Coyne, William J.
10. Rep Davis, Danny K.
11. Rep DeLauro, Rosa L.
12. Rep Doyle, Michael F.
13. Rep Evans, Lane
14. Rep Farr, Sam
15. Rep Filner, Bob
16. Rep Frank, Barney
17. Rep Green, Mark
18. Rep Hastings, Alcee L.
19. Rep Hoeffel, Joseph M.
20. Rep Honda, Michael M.
21. Rep Horn, Stephen
22. Rep Kaptur, Marcy
23. Rep Kilpatrick, Carolyn C.
24. Rep Kind, Ron
25. Rep Kucinich, Dennis J.
26. Rep Lantos, Tom
27. Rep Leach, James A.
28. Rep Lee, Barbara
29. Rep Lipinski, William O.
30. Rep McGovern, James P.
31. Rep Meek, Carrie P.
32. Rep Millender-McDonald, Juanita
33. Rep Miller, George
34. Rep Mink, Patsy T.
35. Rep Morella, Constance A.
36. Rep Oberstar, James L.
37. Rep Payne, Donald M.
38. Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana
39. Rep Royce, Edward R.
40. Rep Sabo, Martin Olav
41. Rep Schakowsky, Janice D.
42. Rep Schiff, Adam B.
43. Rep Shaw, E. Clay, Jr.
44. Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh
45. Rep Smith, Adam
46. Rep Smith, Christopher H.
47. Rep Tierney, John F.
48. Rep Velazquez, Nydia M.
49. Rep Woolsey, Lynn C.
[Syed Adeeb, a veteran journalist, is Chief Editor of the Washington-
based Information Times, Director of the Human Rights Foundation
(HRF - http://www.geocities.com/HRFinfo ) and Member of the Amnesty
International USA, Human Rights Watch and American Civil Liberties
Union.]
[Copyright © 2002 InformationTimes.com - All Rights Reserved.]
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NIGERIAN COURTS AUTHORIZE MURDER BY STONING
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/InfoTimes/message/1460
http://topica.com/lists/infotimes/read/message.html?mid=1710891464
Stop the War Against Women in Nigeria
http://www.hrw.org/africa/nigeria.php
Massive Human Rights Abuses in Nigeria
http://web.amnesty.org/web/ar2002.nsf/afr/nigeria!Open
U.S. State Department Human Rights Report on Nigeria, 2001
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/af/8397.htm
International Religious Freedom Report About Nigeria
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2001/5687.htm
Zafran Khan was raped, but a Pakistani judge decided it was adultery -
- now will this young mother be stoned to death in Kohat, North West
Frontier, Pakistan, after an extraordinary judgment in a country
where 'Islamic Code' collides with secular law.
http://observer.co.uk/worldview/story/0,11581,714166,00.html
Amnesty International Cites Bush Administration for "Dangerous
Exceptionalism".
From Guantanamo Bay to Juvenile Executions, New Report Shows
Extensive U.S. Violations of Human Rights.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/2002/usa08242002.html
Retribution
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/browne4.html
Lee "Tiny" Davis Executed by the State of Florida on July 8, 1999.
http://www.counterpunch.org/davispix.html
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DIABOLICAL NATURE OF THE ISLAMIC CULT
CONTINUATION
ISLAMIC WAR AGAINST WOMEN AND CIVILIZATION
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FORUM ON LEPROSY - A TOTALLY CURABLE DISEASE
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