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afrol News, 24 October - The Islamic court in Gwadabawa, Sokoto State, in northern Nigeria sentenced Safiya Hussaini Tungar-Tudu to death by stoning after finding her guilty of having pre-marital sex, a punishable offence under Shari'a law. Ms. Tungar-Tudu, who is pregnant, has until 8 November to file an appeal. The court's ruling is pending approval by the governor of Sokoto State after which a date to mete out the punishment will be fixed. The man she allegedly had sex with was set free by the same court after concluding that it lacked sufficient evidence to prosecute him for the alleged adultery, according to reports from the US-based Human Rights Watch. The human rights group spokesperson LaShawn R. Jefferson, condemning the ruling, said, "Women have a basic right to control their sexual autonomy." She added, "When a woman is punished so severely for having pre-marital sex, her right to make free decisions regarding her body is violated." In recent years, several states in Muslim-dominated northern Nigeria have extended the application of Shari'a law to criminal offences, imposing Shari'a punishments for theft and other crimes, and criminalizing acts such as pre-marital sex and alcohol consumption. Ms. Tungar-Tudu's conviction for pre-marital sex 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, 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. In another case, a Shari'a court found a sixteen-year-old boy guilty of stealing money. He was sentenced to the amputation of his hand. Amputation is an extreme form of corporal punishment, which is expressly prohibited by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, according to Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch reports that it has called on the Nigerian government to protect Ms. Tungar-Tudu from the arbitrary meting out of a harsh and unacceptable punishment, and to ensure that the courts operate in accordance with international human rights law and the bill of rights in Nigeria's own constitution. Sources:
Based on Human Rights Watch and afrol archives
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