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Politics : America Under Siege: The End of Innocence -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Investor Clouseau who wrote (18413)	9/10/2002 8:16:33 AM
From: lorne	Respond to of 27666

No pardon for stoning case mum: Nigerian state govt September 09, 2002, KANO, Nigeria (AFP) - The governor of the home state of Nigerian single-mother Amina Lawal will not intervene to overturn her death sentence. The fate of the 30-year-old housewife now lies solely with her upcoming legal appeals, as the federal government has also said it is powerless to intervene in an Islamic Sharia court case. Monday's statement by the governor's spokesman is a blow for rights campaigners and for the organisers of the Miss World contest, who hoped the issue might be settled early in order to head off protests from beauty queens. "The government will not be swayed by local and international human rights campaigns, nothing will make us meddle with the legal proceedings," said Katsina state spokesman Ibrahim Abdullahi. "She was convicted by a Sharia court for adultery after which she filed an appeal which she lost. She has room for more appeals, so let her use it and prove her innocence," he said. "The position of the government on this case is very clear. Amina's case is a religious one which should not be interfered with by anybody, not even the government." Lawal was arrested by police earlier this year after she gave birth out of wedlock. She confessed to having had extramarital sex and an Islamic court sentenced her to be stoned to death. As with the earlier case of Safiya Husseini, who was later cleared on appeal, Lawal's conviction outraged rights campaigners and embarrassed Nigeria's federal government. But Lawal's appeal was thrown out last month, and President Olusegun Obasanjo's regime said that while it considers Sharia criminal law unconstitutional it would not intervene. Lawal's volunteer legal team, which is housing and protecting her, plans a second appeal. Meanwhile, the case has threatened the 2002 Miss World beauty pageant, the most high-profile event ever planned for Nigeria. The event is scheduled for November 30, but several beauty queens -- including Miss France, Miss Belgium, Miss Norway, Miss Kenya and Miss Ivory Coast -- have threatened to pull out in protest. Last week Miss World organiser Jide Asumah of franchise holders Silverbird Productions told AFP that the idea of a gubernatorial pardon for Lawal "was something that should be considered". As the case stands, Lawal will almost certainly still be living under the threat of a stoning while one of her three remaining appeals is considered. Abdullahi said the people of Katsina state "adore" the Sharia, and called on rights activists, beauty queens and foreign leaders to mind their own business. "The people asked for Sharia and they want it to be applied on them, so why should someone who is in no way affected by it protest?" he asked. No pardon for stoning case mum: Nigerian state govt arabia.com