An update June 2003

Amina Lawal’s hearing is postponed

On June 3, 2003 the judges did not attend Amina Lawal’s hearing and as a result the hearing was postponed until August 2003. Amina Lawal, a young woman and mother of a little boy, is sentenced to death by stoning in Nigeria, for having sexual relations outside marriage.

This is the third time the court is postponing the decision regarding Amina Lawal’s stoning sentence. It demonstrates the importance of the issue and how Amina Lawal’s stoning sentence has became a serious political matter in Nigeria, which has left the Islamic court with barriers in finalizing her sentence. The fact is that the international protest against her stoning and the movement in her support has made a difference. The judicial system and the clerics find it less easy to carry out their criminal intentions.

It is possible to put a stop to Amina Lawal’s stoning. It is possible to save her life and the lives of many women who are on the death row. We need to continue our fight until the whole brutal act of stoning is banned in all the countries.

The existence of a strong protest all around the world will make the next case of stoning harder to execute. In the light of the international protests against stoning, we were able to force the Pakistani government to cancel Zafaran Bibi’s stoning sentence and forced the Iranian regime to suspend stoning.

Once again we urge all the freedom loving people to protest against stoning law. Stoning must be banned.

International Committee Against Stoning

June 8, 2003