An Islamic appeals court in northern Nigeria yesterday overturned the conviction of a single mother who faced death by stoning for adultery, saying the woman was not given "ample opportunity to defend herself."
If the sentence had been carried out, Amina Lawal, 32, would have been the first woman stoned to death since 12 northern states first began adopting strict Islamic law, or Shariah, in 1999.
The case has dragged on for over a year.
In an hour-long ruling, the five-judge panel said Lawal was not caught in the act of adultery and was not given enough time to understand the charges against her.
It also cited procedural errors, including that only one judge was present at her initial conviction in March 2002, instead of the three required under Islamic law.
The case had drawn sharp criticism from international rights groups. President Olusegun Obasanjo's government and world leaders had called for Lawal to be spared. Last week, Brazil even offered her asylum.
The panel announced its ruling at the Katsina State Shariah Court of Appeals, a single-story, mustard-colored building heavily guarded by police. Inside the tiny blue-walled courtroom, ceiling fans tried to ease the sweltering heat.
Lawal, wrapped in a light orange veil, sat on a stone bench, eyes downcast, cradling her nearly 2-year-old daughter.
Lawal was first convicted in March 2002 following the birth of her daughter two years after she divorced her husband. Judges rejected Lawal's first appeal in August 2002.
Prosecutors argued Lawal's child was living proof she committed a crime under Shariah, but lead defense lawyer Aliyu Musa Yawuri said the case should be dropped because no lawyers were present when she first testified she'd slept with another man following her divorce.
Yawuri said Lawal -- a poor, uneducated woman from a rural family -- didn't understand the charges against her at the time.
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