An Islamic court in northern Nigeria postponed an appeal...

An Islamic court in northern Nigeria postponed an appeal hearing on behalf of a woman sentenced to death by stoning for the crime of adultery.Safiya Husaini's lawyers had been seeking to overturn the conviction on the grounds that she was raped. But she now says that the baby at the centre of the case was fathered by her former husband. This would not be an offence under Sharia law and she would be acquitted. The postponement is to give prosecution lawyers enough time to react to the new evidence. The hearing will now take place on 18 March. Ms Husaini's lawyer, Abdulkadir Imam, said that her earlier statement had been made under duress, without legal representation. "At that time, she did not understand the nature and consequence of the offence she was charged with nor the questions she was asked," he said. Correspondents say the courtroom was packed and there was an animated crowd outside. Safiya Husaini was convicted of adultery by a Sharia or Islamic court in Sokoto state in October 2001 - a crime which carries a mandatory death sentence. Harsh criminal punishments, such as death by stoning and amputation of limbs for theft, have been introduced in many of Nigeria's majority Muslim northern states since 1999. But although amputations have been carried out, no one has yet been stoned to death. Safiya Husaini is not being held in prison. Under Islamic law, she is free to live with her family until she either wins her appeal or is taken away to be stoned to death. If she does lose this appeal, she can take it further, right up to the Supreme Court in the federal capital, Abuja.