Sudanese woman sentenced to death by stoning – International News

According to a recent report, 20-year old Intisar Sharif Abdalla of Sudan has been sentenced to be stoned to death for the adultery act. She is currently shackled in prison with her baby son near Khartoum.

Campaigners condemned the ruling, saying it violated international standards and raised concerns that Sudan might start applying sharia, or Islamic law, more strictly following the secession of mostly non-Muslim South Sudan last year.

Two lawyers assigned to her case, who declined to be named, said they were launching an appeal adding Abdalla appeared to be under severe psychological strain.

“She’s in dire need of a psychiatrist because she appears to be in a state of shock from the social and family pressures she’s under,” one lawyer said.

Abdalla was illiterate and did not have a lawyer or interpreter in the courtroom, although Arabic is not her native language, the lawyers and activists added.

Arabic is the main language in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation, though a wide range of smaller languages are also spoken, particularly in tribal areas. It was unclear where Abdalla came from.

Officials in Sudan’s justice and information ministries said they could not immediately comment on the case when Reuters contacted them by phone.

Abdalla’s exact age has not been confirmed, but activists said she was believed to be around 20, although some reports indicated she could be younger.

A senior research at advocacy group Human Rights Watch, Jehanne Henry, shared his views on the matter. He said, “The case certainly raises concerns about how judges are interpreting and applying the laws of Sudan,”

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Posted by Irfan Khokhar on May 31 2012. Filed under World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry