A sharia appeals court in Nigeria ordered a man sentenced...

A sharia appeals court in Nigeria ordered a man sentenced to death by stoning for raping a nine-year-old girl to appear at a hearing later in September, defence lawyers said.At a preliminary hearing, the court asked the Jigawa state government in northwest Nigeria to bring the convicted rapist Sarimu Mohammed, 50, on September 18 so it could hear his appeal."It is important that Mohammed appear in court because under criminal proceedings his case cannot be heard unless he is physically present in court," defence lawyer Mohammed Gausu told Reuters by phone from Dutse, the Jigawa state capital.Father-of-two Mohammed has been held in prison in the town of Gumel, some 260 km (160 miles) north of Dutse, since May 8 when a lower court in the village of Baranda convicted him after he confessed to the offence. Mohammed's lawyers said they had based the appeal on grounds of insanity and the fact that the he did not have enough time to defend himself.