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CNN Live Today
Nigerian Stoning
Aired May 30, 2003 - 11:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now we want to stay in other international news. To tell you about this morning is another story that is quite a gripping one. This one coming to us from Nigeria, where a young mother is facing a death sentence by being buried up to her neck and being stoned to death. This for having a child out of wedlock. This punishment is in accordance with strict Islamic law.
CNN's Lagos bureau chief Jeff Koinange joins us now by videophone. Jeff has an update on this story for us -- Jeff.
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Leon.
And the latest appeal in this case comes this coming Tuesday, June the 3rd, in the town of Katina (ph), up in northern Nigeria.
I say the latest news, because there's been a whole bunch of appeals which have been delayed for one reason or another. I can count four since young Amina (ph) Lawal was sentenced to death over a year ago. The latest one about a month ago, the prosecution didn't show up. So the judge delayed the appeal again for another month.
So on Tuesday, June 3rd, Amina Lawal and her lawyers are hoping she will finally 00 justice will be done in this case. I did speak to Lawal's lawyer, who happens to be a woman and not allowed in the Sharia (ph) court for the mere fact that she is a woman. She told me she expects the best. She is very hopeful for her client.
I also spoke to Amina Lawal herself. She's a woman of very few words, Leon, but did say, God is with her. That's what she had to say, she didn't say anything more, but for the 30-year-old mother of four, she's hoping that justice will be done this Tuesday.
HARRIS: Jeff, as you know, this story has been getting a lot of international exposure for the past year. There are a number of celebrities around the world. We hear Oprah Winfrey is also lined up now on this woman's behalf. Amnesty International has been waging a very strong campaign to expose what's happening with this story.
Can you explain at all how this outcry outside of Nigeria is playing there inside Nigeria, or is it having any effect at all, or none? .
KOINANGE: It is having an effect, Leon. And we'll go back about a year before, when another woman from northern Nigeria, from the state of Sokutur (ph), was sentenced to death, and in an appeals case, she was let go because of international pressure, like the one you speak of. I've been getting tons of e-mail from all kinds of human rights organizations all over the world, saying, when is the appeal court date, can we come to Nigeria, because they need access to get into Nigeria. Will it be OK for us to come? There's been so much pressure, but because of these so many appeals that have been postponed, I think it's being played down.
We'll know on Tuesday how serious they are about coming to Nigeria, being in the courtroom because even if they do come, they may not be 0 allowed in the courtroom, because again, even if they do come to Nigeria, they may not be allowed into the courtroom for the mere fact that, according to the locals here, they are overpublicizing this case.
But again, yes, that pressure does really help a lot. When a case like this is shown to the outside world, people realize, hey, how can this thing happen in this day and age. So it's important for that pressure to keep up, and I think, hopefully, in the end, it will have some kind of effect -- Leon.
HARRIS: Jeff, I have to tell you, you said the words that every single person in this newsroom that we've talked to about this story has said, how can a thing like this happen in this day and age.
Well, Jeff Koinange, we'll let you go, because you're going to be covering this story for the next couple of days. Jeff is our Lagos bureau chief, and we'll follow this story. The execution date set for Monday next week. We'll see what happens by Tuesday.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 30, 2003 - 11:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now we want to stay in other international news. To tell you about this morning is another story that is quite a gripping one. This one coming to us from Nigeria, where a young mother is facing a death sentence by being buried up to her neck and being stoned to death. This for having a child out of wedlock. This punishment is in accordance with strict Islamic law.
CNN's Lagos bureau chief Jeff Koinange joins us now by videophone. Jeff has an update on this story for us -- Jeff.
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Leon.
And the latest appeal in this case comes this coming Tuesday, June the 3rd, in the town of Katina (ph), up in northern Nigeria.
I say the latest news, because there's been a whole bunch of appeals which have been delayed for one reason or another. I can count four since young Amina (ph) Lawal was sentenced to death over a year ago. The latest one about a month ago, the prosecution didn't show up. So the judge delayed the appeal again for another month.
So on Tuesday, June 3rd, Amina Lawal and her lawyers are hoping she will finally 00 justice will be done in this case. I did speak to Lawal's lawyer, who happens to be a woman and not allowed in the Sharia (ph) court for the mere fact that she is a woman. She told me she expects the best. She is very hopeful for her client.
I also spoke to Amina Lawal herself. She's a woman of very few words, Leon, but did say, God is with her. That's what she had to say, she didn't say anything more, but for the 30-year-old mother of four, she's hoping that justice will be done this Tuesday.
HARRIS: Jeff, as you know, this story has been getting a lot of international exposure for the past year. There are a number of celebrities around the world. We hear Oprah Winfrey is also lined up now on this woman's behalf. Amnesty International has been waging a very strong campaign to expose what's happening with this story.
Can you explain at all how this outcry outside of Nigeria is playing there inside Nigeria, or is it having any effect at all, or none? .
KOINANGE: It is having an effect, Leon. And we'll go back about a year before, when another woman from northern Nigeria, from the state of Sokutur (ph), was sentenced to death, and in an appeals case, she was let go because of international pressure, like the one you speak of. I've been getting tons of e-mail from all kinds of human rights organizations all over the world, saying, when is the appeal court date, can we come to Nigeria, because they need access to get into Nigeria. Will it be OK for us to come? There's been so much pressure, but because of these so many appeals that have been postponed, I think it's being played down.
We'll know on Tuesday how serious they are about coming to Nigeria, being in the courtroom because even if they do come, they may not be 0 allowed in the courtroom, because again, even if they do come to Nigeria, they may not be allowed into the courtroom for the mere fact that, according to the locals here, they are overpublicizing this case.
But again, yes, that pressure does really help a lot. When a case like this is shown to the outside world, people realize, hey, how can this thing happen in this day and age. So it's important for that pressure to keep up, and I think, hopefully, in the end, it will have some kind of effect -- Leon.
HARRIS: Jeff, I have to tell you, you said the words that every single person in this newsroom that we've talked to about this story has said, how can a thing like this happen in this day and age.
Well, Jeff Koinange, we'll let you go, because you're going to be covering this story for the next couple of days. Jeff is our Lagos bureau chief, and we'll follow this story. The execution date set for Monday next week. We'll see what happens by Tuesday.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
