Subject: [fem-women2000 520] Les Penelopes - Appel /$B%l%$%W$5$l$?:a$GM-:a!)(B
From: lalamaziwa <lalamaziwa@jca.apc.org>
Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 23:41:01 +0900
Seq: 520
$B%l%$%W$5$l$?:a$GM-:a!)(B # $B$I$J$?$+(B $BOBLu$rIU$1$F(B fem-alerts@jca.apc.org $B$X$NEj9F$r(B! Forwarded by lalamaziwa <lalamaziwa@jca.apc.org> ---------------- Original message follows ---------------- From: palmieri@mire.net Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 15:24:19 +0100 (BST) Subject: Les P$BqOqM(Bopes - Appel -- A Nigerian woman sentenced for having being raped? We agree with the protest of OMCT and recommand you to send this letter with your own signatory. -------- Olusegun Obasanjo President Presidential Villa State House, Aso Rock Abuja Nigeria fax 234-95-232-138 Geneva, 14th September 2000 Your Excellency, The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) is deeply concerned by information received regarding the sentencing of a pregnant 17-year-old girl to 180 lashes by an Islamic court in the northern Nigerian state of Zamfara. She is to be publicly flogged 40 days after the delivery of the baby. According to the information received, Bariya Ibrahim Magazu was found guilty last week by one of the new Islamic courts in the state of having had sex outside marriage, and of accusing three men of having slept with her without proof. It seems that Police in her village reported the unmarried girl to the courts after seeing that she was several months pregnant. When asked by the court to identify the father, she named three middle-aged farmers in her village as possible fathers, but several witnesses were unable to confirm her claim. As a result, the judge last week sentenced the girl to receive 100 lashes for engaging in pre-marital sex and 80 lashes for making unsubstantiated claims against the three men. OMCT unreservedly condemns the use of such punishments which clearly violates international human rights standards as embodied in the Convention against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The International Secretariat of OMCT calls on the authorities in Nigeria to intervene and revoke this sentence and guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Bariya Ibrahim Magazu. Finally, we request to ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards. Thank you for your kind attention to this matter. Yours sincerely, Carin Benninger-Budel Women$ByT(B Program Manager Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture (OMCT) World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) Organizaci$B%m(Bn 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 : omct@omct.org http://www.omct.org _________________________________________________________________________ fem-Women2000@jca.apc.org for Women 2000, UN Special Session on Beijing+5 Searcheable Archive http://www.jca.apc.org/fem/news/women2000/index.shtml visit fem-net HomePage for other mailing lists http://www.jca.apc.org/fem