We are outraged at the scandalous death sentence for Mrs Amina Lawal for »adultery«, which is set for retrial in the state of Katsina before a higher Sharia Court on March 25^th and, should the verdict be reconfirmed, is to be meted out at the beginning of next year – Mrs Lawal is to be stoned to death. We would like to address you and your Minster of Justice and urge you to put an immediate stop to this barbaric trial and also to compensate Mrs Lawal.

12 of the 36 federal states of Nigeria have already fallen under Islamic Sharia rule. To achieve this, thousands of people were killed. Your democratic constitution was violated with the introduction of an Islamic state religion and is being trampled on daily in the northern states, by governors that are becoming more and more impertinent, under the protective shield of Islam.

According to your constitution, your government is committed to ensuring that a strict separation of church and state is adhered to, basic rights are protected and human dignity is respected. The new jurisdiction that has been introduced in 12 federal states in Nigeria on the basis of the Sharia encompasses cruel, inhuman and humiliating punishments such as whipping, amputations and the death penalty for adultery. We urge you to ensure that the most elementary human rights and the constitution of your country are respected in every part of your country.

This precedent of the extension and application of Islamic law will lead to the entire political system of Nigeria being destabilised by the undermining of the state regime and the authority of the democratically elected central government being disregarded to an ever-increasing degree.

We will do everything in our power to make the case of Mrs Lawal known to the national and international public and hope that you take more decisive steps against religious terror in future. Kemal Atatürk acted in this way and saved millions of Turks from the disgusting excesses of religious fanaticism – and the turkish people profits from his fight until today.