Human rights watchdog Amnesty International said on Friday it was concerned that an unmarried Nigerian mother sentenced to be stoned still faced the death penalty, despite international anger at the case.
Amnesty said in a statement released in London it was worried that a legal appeal launched by 31-year-old Amina Lawal against her sentence still did not have a date set for a hearing.
”This means that the sentence against Amina Lawal is still applicable,” the human rights group said.
The Nigerian federal government has stated that there is no way that it will allow the death sentence by stoning against Lawal, handed down by an Islamic court, to be carried out.
However, the secular central administration has so far proved reluctant to intervene directly against the authorities in northern Nigerian states which have reintroduced strict Muslim law, the Sharia.
Amnesty said: ”Despite reassurances by President (Olusegun) Obasanjo, the government is still failing to take effective measures to ensure that the new Sharia penal legislation is in line with the Nigerian constitution and the country’s obligations under international human rights instruments.”
Amnesty added: ”The truth is that, despite the outrage widely expressed by the international community, Amina Lawal … is still facing the death penalty, and that cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments such as flogging and amputation are being passed regularly in Sharia courts in northern Nigeria.” – Sapa-AFP