MPAC Hails Nigeria Court Ruling in Amina Lawal Case
(September 25, 2003) -- The Muslim Women's League and Muslim Public Affairs Council hail the decision of an Islamic court in Nigeria to overturn the conviction of Amina Lawal who was sentenced to be stoned to death for allegedly engaging in sex outside of marriage. The panel of five judges cited procedural irregularities that contravened Islamic as well as secular legal principles. While this case does not resolve the existing controversy about whether Shariah and more specifically Hudud punishments (amputation, flogging, stoning) should be institutionalized in Nigeria, it does highlight the fact that an Islamic legal system is capable of ensuring justice for the accused.
In its substance and in the name of the court issuing it, the opinion was based on Islamic legal rules. This is crucially important for both Muslims and non-Muslims to keep in mind.
Muslims need to be aware that this overruling does not represent some sort of secular dismissal of Islamic law and values. Rather, it is an internal Muslim legal review of the accuracy and propriety of punishments carried out in the name of Islam. Those inclined to protest the decision as "un-Islamic" must consider whether they oppose the result or oppose the reasoning leading to the result. Both issues upon which the acquittal were based are core issues of Islamic criminal justice, namely, the willingness of the confession and the possibilities of gestational period known in Islamic law as the "sleeping fetus doctrine").
For non-Muslims this case challenges presumptions that Islamic criminal law inherently and always violates western human rights norms. As illustrated by the Lawal ruling and earlier adultery cases in Nigeria, there are numerous safeguards within Islamic jurisprudence to empower the law to serve the greatest public good. Indeed, in Hudud cases, the overriding principle has always been to avoid punishment if there is any indication of doubt - a principle successfully upheld in this most recent case. All those concerned about the oppressive impact Islamic law may have in Muslim countries should praise this ruling, and be happy that it issued from a court sworn to uphold Islamic law.
When global human rights activists oppose the idea of Islamic law altogether, this only serves to create extremist opposition to what is perceived as a new colonialism. This is why, in the midst of international human rights appeals for action to help Amina Lawal, her own lawyers pleaded with the world to stop the international secular pressure, as it only made their appeals to the Islamic courts more ifficult. Rather than blanketly opposing Islamic law as a whole, we look forward to the day when well-meaning activists learn to be more specific in their concerns, identifying the exact impact of Islamic law which concerns them, and work with Muslims utilising Islamic jurisprudential tools to correct the injustice. Maybe, when that day comes, they will also see those aspects of Islamic law which actually empower women and men.
The real challenge for any government wanting to impose Shariah is that the details of the law (both the spirit and the letter) must be adhered to so that, as Shariah mandates, the rights of all citizens, regardless of their religion, are upheld and respected at all times.
Muslim Public Affairs Council: http://www.mpac.org
Please also see the reaction from Amnesty International
Nigeria: Amina Lawal's death sentence quashed at last but questions remain about discriminatory legislation
Amnesty International welcomes the decision today by the Sharia Court of Appeal of Katsina State, in northern Nigeria to quash Amina Lawal's sentence to death by stoning handed down by a Sharia court at Bakori, in Katsina State on 22 March 2002.
According to her defence lawyer, Amina Lawal was freed on the grounds that neither the conviction nor the confession were legally valid. Therefore no offence as such was established.
"Amina Lawal's case should not have been brought to a court of law in the first instance. Nobody should ever be made to go through a similar ordeal," Amnesty International said.
Amnesty International also welcomes the stand taken by women's groups who have mobilised ahead of today's ruling and who have condemned the gender-biased attitude in the decisions of some Sharia courts in Nigeria.
While Amina Lawal's conviction was quashed, an appeal for another court case involving a death penalty sentence against Fatima Usman and Ahmadu Ibrahim is still pending with a Sharia Court of Appeal in Minna, Niger State. This shows that the work in support of women and men exercising their right to freedom of expression and association, freedom from discrimination and the right to privacy.
"The death penalty is the ultimate violation of the right to life and also constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, and is in all circumstances. Amnesty International calls on the Nigerian government and civil society to seize this opportunity and address an issue that has caused unnecessary harm and distress for many Nigerian citizens," Amnesty International added.
The federal government of Nigeria should take steps to abolish the death penalty and amend all pieces of legislation which introduce the death penalty as well as cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments at all levels of the Nigerian legislation, including the Shari'ah penal legislation.
Amnesty International reminds that punishments such as stoning, flogging or amputation, included in the new legislation are considered cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by international human rights standards. These punishments are in complete contradiction with the Convention against Torture ratified by the Republic of Nigeria in June 2001.
Consensual sexual relations outside marriage between adults are not recognizable criminal offences under emerging international human rights standards. The Human Rights Committee which held that: "... it is undisputed that adult consensual sexual activity in private is covered by the concept of 'privacy'." Charging and detaining women for sexual relations violates their right to free expression and association, freedom from discrimination, and the right to privacy.
Amnesty International continues the campaign to call for the abolition of all discriminatory laws and opposes the criminalization of consensual sexual activity between adults in private and the imprisonment of anyone solely on that basis.
Background
Amina Lawal was found guilty by a Sharia Court in March 2002 after bearing a child outside marriage. Under new Sharia Penal Legislations in force in several northern Nigerian states since 1999, this was sufficient for her to be convicted of the offence of adultery as defined in the new Sharia Penal laws of Katsina state and summoned to appear before a Sharia tribunal to respond to this charge which now carries the mandatory punishment of death by stoning. The request of appeal for Amina Lawal's court case went through several adjournments before this last hearing.
Amnesty International
For latest human rights news view http://news.amnesty.org
Please also see:
AMINA LAWAL
Une fois n'est pas coutume
Amina Lawal, condamnée en première instance à la lapidation pour adultère en mars 2002, a été acquittée en appel par une cour islamique du Nigeria le 25 septembre... http://news.courrierinternational.com/re?l=nwanbXsxziuX0
(September 25, 2003) -- The Muslim Women's League and Muslim Public Affairs Council hail the decision of an Islamic court in Nigeria to overturn the conviction of Amina Lawal who was sentenced to be stoned to death for allegedly engaging in sex outside of marriage. The panel of five judges cited procedural irregularities that contravened Islamic as well as secular legal principles. While this case does not resolve the existing controversy about whether Shariah and more specifically Hudud punishments (amputation, flogging, stoning) should be institutionalized in Nigeria, it does highlight the fact that an Islamic legal system is capable of ensuring justice for the accused.
In its substance and in the name of the court issuing it, the opinion was based on Islamic legal rules. This is crucially important for both Muslims and non-Muslims to keep in mind.
Muslims need to be aware that this overruling does not represent some sort of secular dismissal of Islamic law and values. Rather, it is an internal Muslim legal review of the accuracy and propriety of punishments carried out in the name of Islam. Those inclined to protest the decision as "un-Islamic" must consider whether they oppose the result or oppose the reasoning leading to the result. Both issues upon which the acquittal were based are core issues of Islamic criminal justice, namely, the willingness of the confession and the possibilities of gestational period known in Islamic law as the "sleeping fetus doctrine").
For non-Muslims this case challenges presumptions that Islamic criminal law inherently and always violates western human rights norms. As illustrated by the Lawal ruling and earlier adultery cases in Nigeria, there are numerous safeguards within Islamic jurisprudence to empower the law to serve the greatest public good. Indeed, in Hudud cases, the overriding principle has always been to avoid punishment if there is any indication of doubt - a principle successfully upheld in this most recent case. All those concerned about the oppressive impact Islamic law may have in Muslim countries should praise this ruling, and be happy that it issued from a court sworn to uphold Islamic law.
When global human rights activists oppose the idea of Islamic law altogether, this only serves to create extremist opposition to what is perceived as a new colonialism. This is why, in the midst of international human rights appeals for action to help Amina Lawal, her own lawyers pleaded with the world to stop the international secular pressure, as it only made their appeals to the Islamic courts more ifficult. Rather than blanketly opposing Islamic law as a whole, we look forward to the day when well-meaning activists learn to be more specific in their concerns, identifying the exact impact of Islamic law which concerns them, and work with Muslims utilising Islamic jurisprudential tools to correct the injustice. Maybe, when that day comes, they will also see those aspects of Islamic law which actually empower women and men.
The real challenge for any government wanting to impose Shariah is that the details of the law (both the spirit and the letter) must be adhered to so that, as Shariah mandates, the rights of all citizens, regardless of their religion, are upheld and respected at all times.
Muslim Public Affairs Council: http://www.mpac.org
Please also see the reaction from Amnesty International
Nigeria: Amina Lawal's death sentence quashed at last but questions remain about discriminatory legislation
Amnesty International welcomes the decision today by the Sharia Court of Appeal of Katsina State, in northern Nigeria to quash Amina Lawal's sentence to death by stoning handed down by a Sharia court at Bakori, in Katsina State on 22 March 2002.
According to her defence lawyer, Amina Lawal was freed on the grounds that neither the conviction nor the confession were legally valid. Therefore no offence as such was established.
"Amina Lawal's case should not have been brought to a court of law in the first instance. Nobody should ever be made to go through a similar ordeal," Amnesty International said.
Amnesty International also welcomes the stand taken by women's groups who have mobilised ahead of today's ruling and who have condemned the gender-biased attitude in the decisions of some Sharia courts in Nigeria.
While Amina Lawal's conviction was quashed, an appeal for another court case involving a death penalty sentence against Fatima Usman and Ahmadu Ibrahim is still pending with a Sharia Court of Appeal in Minna, Niger State. This shows that the work in support of women and men exercising their right to freedom of expression and association, freedom from discrimination and the right to privacy.
"The death penalty is the ultimate violation of the right to life and also constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, and is in all circumstances. Amnesty International calls on the Nigerian government and civil society to seize this opportunity and address an issue that has caused unnecessary harm and distress for many Nigerian citizens," Amnesty International added.
The federal government of Nigeria should take steps to abolish the death penalty and amend all pieces of legislation which introduce the death penalty as well as cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments at all levels of the Nigerian legislation, including the Shari'ah penal legislation.
Amnesty International reminds that punishments such as stoning, flogging or amputation, included in the new legislation are considered cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by international human rights standards. These punishments are in complete contradiction with the Convention against Torture ratified by the Republic of Nigeria in June 2001.
Consensual sexual relations outside marriage between adults are not recognizable criminal offences under emerging international human rights standards. The Human Rights Committee which held that: "... it is undisputed that adult consensual sexual activity in private is covered by the concept of 'privacy'." Charging and detaining women for sexual relations violates their right to free expression and association, freedom from discrimination, and the right to privacy.
Amnesty International continues the campaign to call for the abolition of all discriminatory laws and opposes the criminalization of consensual sexual activity between adults in private and the imprisonment of anyone solely on that basis.
Background
Amina Lawal was found guilty by a Sharia Court in March 2002 after bearing a child outside marriage. Under new Sharia Penal Legislations in force in several northern Nigerian states since 1999, this was sufficient for her to be convicted of the offence of adultery as defined in the new Sharia Penal laws of Katsina state and summoned to appear before a Sharia tribunal to respond to this charge which now carries the mandatory punishment of death by stoning. The request of appeal for Amina Lawal's court case went through several adjournments before this last hearing.
Amnesty International
For latest human rights news view http://news.amnesty.org
Please also see:
AMINA LAWAL
Une fois n'est pas coutume
Amina Lawal, condamnée en première instance à la lapidation pour adultère en mars 2002, a été acquittée en appel par une cour islamique du Nigeria le 25 septembre... http://news.courrierinternational.com/re?l=nwanbXsxziuX0