protest stoning sentences

Case NGA 111002 / NGA 111002.VAW
URGENT APPEAL / VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Death sentence (stoning) / Incommunicado detention / Fair trial

The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information
concerning the following situation in Nigeria.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against
Torture (OMCT) is deeply concerned by the sentencing to death by
stoning of 32 year-old Fatima Usman and 35 year-old Ahmed Ibrahim, in
Nigeria.

According to information received from reliable sources, on 9 October
2002, a Sharia court in Niger State adjourned the bail hearing until
22 October for the couple, who have been sentenced to death by
stoning for adultery. Mr. Ibrahim and Ms. Usman were not allowed to
be present at either the appellate or the bail hearing and are
currently being detained in a federal prison. According to the
information received, the pair have yet to be informed of the guilty
verdict and the death sentence, as their lawyers have not been
permitted to have contact with them.

Ms. Usman and Mr. Ibrahim were initially found guilty of adultery and
sentenced by a Sharia Court of lower instance to a fine of N15,000
and to imprisonment for a period of 5 years. This sentence was later
appealed by the prosecution and the appeal was upheld by a judge on
the grounds that the initial sentence was based on the "old law" and
that the appropriate penalty for adultery under the Sharia Penal Code
is death by stoning.

Fatima Usman has a two and a half year-old daughter allegedly
fathered by Ahmed Ibrahim and, according to the information received,
she is currently also eight months pregnant with another child, the
father of whom is thought to be her former husband from whom she is
now divorced. Lawyers for Ms. Usman have expressed grave concerns for
her physical and mental health.

OMCT is deeply concerned for the physical and psychological integrity
of Fatima Usman and Ahmed Ibrahim and unreservedly condemns the use
of corporal punishment, which clearly violates international human
rights standards that prohibit the use of torture. OMCT would like to
recall that the Government of Nigeria is a State Party to
international human rights instruments which prohibit and punish
torture including; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In addition, Nigeria is a
Party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women, which prohibits violence and other
forms of discrimination against women.

OMCT is particularly concerned by the fact that this latest sentence
appears to form part of a series of similar verdicts being handed
down by Sharia courts in Northern Nigeria. The majority of sentences
to stoning to death for adultery have been handed down against women,
as pregnancy is generally used as irrefutable "evidence" of adultery
and women are regarded as being less credible witnesses than men. The
fact that most of the defendants in these cases have either not been
allowed to be present at their trials or have not had adequate legal
representation is also of great concern to OMCT.

Action requested

Please write to the Nigerian authorities urging them to:

i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Fatima
Usman and Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim and their families;

ii. ensure that Ms. Usman and Mr. Ibrahim are permitted to have
contact with their legal representatives and to be informed of the
sentence that has been handed down against them as well as of the
procedure for appealing this sentence;

ii. take all necessary measures to secure respect for the rule of law
in Nigeria which includes respect for the prohibition on torture and
cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment, such as the
practice of corporal punishment;

iii. guarantee women their human rights, including their right to be
free from discrimination and their right to be free from torture and
inhuman and degrading treatment
or punishment;

iv. ensure in all circumstances the full respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms in accordance with international standards.

Addresses:

· His Exellency Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Republic, The
Presidency, Federal Secretariat Phase II, Shehu Shagari Way,Abuja;
Fax: 234 9 523 21 36
(press office), Email: [email protected]

· Alhaji Sule Lamido, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maputo Street ,
Zone 3 Wuse District, Abuja, Nigeria ; Fax: 234 9 523 02 08.

· Kanu Godwin Agabi, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, New
Federal Secretariat complex, Shehu Shagari Way, Abuja, Federal
Capital Territory, Nigeria; Fax:
234 9 523 52 08.

· Abdulkadir Kure (PDP), State Governor, State House, 35000 Minna,
Niger State, Nigeria.

If you are having problems getting through to the above addresses,
please use:

· S.E.M Pius Ikpefuan Ayewoh, Ambassador to the United Nations in
Geneva, Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the
United Nations in Geneva, Rue Richard Wagner 1, 1211 Geneva 2,
Switzerland, fax: 0041 22 7341053, e-mail:
[email protected]

Please also write to the Embassy of Nigeria in your respective
countries.

Geneva, October 11th, 2002

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.
Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Organización Mundial Contra la Tortura (OMCT)
8 rue du Vieux-Billard
Case postale 21
CH-1211 Geneve 8
Suisse/Switzerland
Tel. : 0041 22 809 49 39
Fax : 0041 22 809 49 29
E-mail : [email protected]
http://www.omct.org