FUNTUA, Nigeria (AP) - An Islamic high court in northern Nigeria rejected an appeal Monday by a single mother sentenced to be stoned to death for having sex out of wedlock. Clutching her baby daughter, Amina Lawal burst into tears as the judge delivered the ruling. Lawal, 30, was first sentenced in March after giving birth to a daughter more than nine months after divorcing.
“We uphold the judgment from the lower court,” Judge Aliyu Abdullahi said on behalf of four judges at the Islamic high court at Funtua, in Nigeria’s northern Katsina state. Many of the 60 people who packed the small court room shouted “God is great!” in the Hausa dialect, as Lawal wept.
President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government has declared Shariah punishments such as beheadings, stonings and amputations unconstitutional. Some predominantly Muslim northern states, which began instituting Shariah shortly after civilian rule replaced military dictatorship in 1999, have accused him of meddling.
Monty, I said the Nigerian High Court can bite me. I never expresed my wish to be bitten by all Nigerians, all Muslims, the Nigerian Supreme Court, or indeed any of the Supremes. Except possibly Flo Ballard.
Well, in June this year the US Supremes finally ruled against the execution of retarded people so there’s some hope there.
Of course, technically speaking anyone under 18 at the time they committed the offence is, at best a 'juvenile, and at worst a ‘child’ – I believe the US (along with Congo and Iran - not Nigeria) are the only country in the world that kills juveniles/children: Two more due this month in Texas
Not sure where we go from here…
BTW, I saw something on the news a couple of months ago in which the reporter claimed over 60% of newly born males in Northern (Muslim) Nigerian were called ‘Osama’. Can’t verify that but, it’s a crazy, ignorant world…
London ‘A mouthful on the lips goes straight to the hips’ Calling
This screamed urban legend to me, so I looked it up. Actually, this is happening, though I don’t think you can support a 60% across the board statistic.
So, it is happening, but probably not so extensively. Interestingly, the article above focuses on a marital dispute over naming a baby Osama (the wife is against it).
Where do you get all that from my posting, Eve? You obviously said the Nigerian High Court. What I was pointing out that what really happened was that a Nigerian High Court made the ruling you’re up in arms about. Yes, it’s a bad ruling but it certainly wasn’t made by THE Nigerian High Court. There is, after all, a difference between A and THE.
In Singapore the government stand behind the laws, here the central government doesn’t. Also, this seems even more draconian. Singapore goes over the lines sometimes, this is more extreme. I wouldn’t consider an adultress as much a danger to the public as a drug dealer.
Gee, Eve; was it really too much to expect some ethical behaviour from you like your not insinuating I said something I sure as hell didn’t say? Apparently I expected too much decency from you in response to a simple question:
How about an apology? Better yet: hold your own breath.
Monty, while you’re giving us such an excellent grammar lesson, I hope you didn’t overlook the fact that this woman was sentenced to death for having a baby out of wedlock!
Monty, why don’t you review this link, and explain to us exactly how Eve applied its learning to her second post in this thread. Pay particular attention to the paragraph beginning
And then you might tell us why Eve’s posts are more entertaining to read than replies of a particularly obtuse literal-mindedness.
As I read the orginal reports the other day (a death sentence for the same “offence” by another woman was overturned), the sentence cannot be carried out until the baby is two. However barbaric the law on which this case is based, the requirement that the baby be weaned allows time for a great deal of intervention in this specific case, unlike other cases in which sentences are carried out virtually immediately.
It’s still horrific and appalling, but at least there is some cause for hope in this particular instance.
It’s true that Monty never mentioned Florence Ballard. I can see how the confusion could arise, however - personally I was thrown off by the mention of Shariah; at first I thought it had something to do with the Shirelles, but now I’m pretty sure it was an allusion to the Four Seasons’ hit.
What’s the matter, december, got tired of spreading lies about the famous and newsworthy? You must’ve missed the bit in my post where I gave my opinion on that particular high court decision, you jerk.