Amina Lawal, a 30-year-old Nigerian woman condemned...

Amina Lawal, a 30-year-old Nigerian woman condemned to die by stoning for adultery, has filed an appeal against her sentence.
Lawyers hired by a women's rights group have filed the appeal, making an initial argument on technical grounds, at an Islamic court in Funtua, Katsina State, Lawal said.
Saudatu Shehu Mahdi, head of the Women Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA) which is paying for the lawyer, confirmed that the appeal had been lodged.
"This is an initial appeal, which we registered last Thursday, on technical grounds. The appeal date has not yet been set," she said.
The mother of three is the second woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery since 12 northern states adopted the Islamic law over the past two years.
Lawal, twice wed after first marrying at the age of 14, is the youngest of the 13 children of a local farmer. She was divorced for the second time in June 2000.
After her second divorce, she started a relationship with a man in December that year which lasted until November 2001 when she gave birth to a daughter, Wasila.
Under the strict Islamic law code in place in a dozen northern states, a woman who is divorced and subsequently has a sexual relationship with another man, is guilty of adultery even if he is unmarried.