(2004/C 33 E/009)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2496/02

by Mogens Camre (UEN) to the Commission

(9 September 2002)

Subject:   Sharia law in Muslim countries

On 19 August 2002, a young woman named Amina Lawal was condemned to death by stoning by a court in northern Nigeria. Her ‘crime’ consists in having had a relationship with a man to whom she is not married!

This is not an isolated case or a situation confined to Nigeria. Young women being condemned to death by stoning is a common occurrence in Muslim countries which practise sharia law. There have been several similar cases in Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and a number of other Muslim countries.

Stoning young women for infidelity and extramarital sex is a situation that any normal thinking person condemns. Indeed, women's rights groups, immigrant organisations, Amnesty International and others have condemned the verdict handed down in Nigeria.

The international community must respond if such barbaric acts of cruelty are to be prevented in the future.

Will the Commission, therefore, say what it will do in the specific case of Ms Lawal? Will it also say in which countries sharia is practised and how many cases of the stoning of women occur on an annual basis in each of the countries practising sharia?

Joint answer

to Written Questions E-2495/02 and E-2496/02

given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(6 November 2002)

The Union has consistently opposed the imposition of the death penalty and has set out its policy in the Guidelines to EU policy towards third countries on the death penalty (1). These guidelines refer not only to the Union's goal of worldwide abolition of the death penalty they also underline that those States, which persist in applying the penalty must do so in a manner which inflicts the minimum possible suffering. Clearly, the practice of stoning does not conform to that condition.

The Commission has offered concrete support for projects to support the abolition of the death penalty worldwide. The results of a Call for Proposals for EUR 7 million under the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights are currently being evaluated.

In the case of Amina Lawal, the decision has been appealed to the Sharia Court of Appeal in Katsina. Amina can appeal further to the Federal Court of Appeal in Kaduna and to the Federal Supreme Court in Abuja. Amina cannot be executed while breastfeeding her infant, that is until January 2004. The Union issued a declaration on 21 August 2002 expressing its deep concern about the sentence. The Union has urged the Government of Nigeria to abolish the death penalty, or, as a first step, establish a moratorium. Furthermore, it expresses its concern at inhuman punishments inflicted in some states in Nigeria. The Commission, through its Delegation in Abuja, will follow the evolution of the Amina case attentively. No executions by stoning have yet taken place in Nigeria. For Nigeria, the Commission notified a 9th European Development Fund (EDF) allocation of EUR 222 million in March 2001. Including unspent sums from previous EDFs, the total available for programming is EUR 552 million.

The Union adopts a similar approach for other countries which impose cruel and inhuman sentences such as stoning. In the case of Iran, Amnesty International has reported the execution of at least 139 people in 2001 with two women reported as stoned to death. The Union tabled a resolution at the 56th United Nations General Assembly which, inter alia, deplored the use of such executions and the issue is raised in dialogue with the Iranian authorities. Iran is not at this stage subject to any project programming by the Commission, which, however, over the years has financed a limited number of activities in sectors such as drugs and refugees.

The Commission is not in a position to provide detailed information on countries practising sharia and the precise number of stonings in each such country.

All Community agreements with third countries include a clause stipulating that respect for human rights is an essential element of the agreement. In the event that a party fails to fulfil its human rights obligations, suspension of the Agreement is possible. However, suspending aid to a country would normally be more detrimental to the poorer sections of society and would decrease our possibility to exert pressure in cases such as these. It is therefore a measure of last resort.

(1)  Available at www.europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/human_rights.