WRITTEN QUESTION E-2953/03 by Maurizio Turco (NI) and Marco Cappato (NI) to the Commission. Sentence of death by stoning in Nigeria.
Date: 2003-10-08
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Cotonou Agreement, EU relations, Islamic law, Nigeria, carrying out of sentence, death penalty, human rights, political cooperation

8.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 88 E/123

(2004/C 88 E/0130)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2953/03

by Maurizio Turco (NI) and Marco Cappato (NI) to the Commission

Subject: Sentence of death by stoning in Nigeria

(8 October 2003)

Mr Jibrin Babaji, a Nigerian citizen aged 20, has been found guilty of sexual relations with three underage
boys and has been sentenced to death by stoning. The sentence was handed down on Tuesday,
23 September 2003 by an Islamic court in Bauchi state, under the Sharia penal code.

Does the Commission have further information on the matter? What measures does it intend to take, in
line with the European positions in favour of a moratorium on the death penalty worldwide, to ensure that
this death sentence is not executed?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(21 November 2003)

The Commission has followed closely appeals against death sentences passed by Sharia courts. It is
encouraging to note that in some well-publicised recent cases those sentenced have been acquitted on
appeal (Amina Lawal in Katsina and Safiya Husseini in Sokoto). The Commission is aware of the case of
Jibril Babaji and expects to receive more details from Heads of Mission in Abuja.

The Commission unreservedly opposes the use of the death sentence. Where the death penalty still exists,
the Union calls for its use to be progressively restricted, and where relevant,
for moratoria to be
introduced. The Troika made a démarche on the application of
the death penalty in Nigeria on
12 February 2002.

Moreover, the Commission encourages governments to comply with international standards on human
rights and to respect civil liberties without discrimination. The Commission seeks to end the practice in
certain countries of public and particularly cruel executions.

As stated in several Council conclusions on Nigeria political dialogue is considered a constructive
mechanism for raising human rights issues and questions concerning the death penalty. The Commission
will also be guided by the Cotonou Agreement, for which an essential element is respect for human rights.

(2004/C 88 E/0131)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2955/03

by Maurizio Turco (NI) and Marco Cappato (NI) to the Commission

Subject: Yet another case of persecution of homosexuals in Egypt

(8 October 2003)

The European Parliament has on numerous occasions forcibly condemned the persecution campaign being
waged against homosexuals in Egypt, and has called on the Commission and Council to take concrete and
progressive measures vis-à-vis the Egyptian institutions. On 28 August 2003, 62 men presumed to be
homosexual were arrested on the Qsr el Nil bridge in Egypt in the course of a raid by Cairo police, who
surrounded the bridge, verbally abused the men and arrested them. The victims were imprisoned for three
days, charged with ‘depraved practices’, obliged to sign statements of guilt, and released after being forced
to give their addresses. The hearings will be held in November and December 2003.

Is the Commission aware of these arrests? Does it intend to take concrete and progressive measures, in line
with Parliament’s repeated demands, with regard to Egypt on the subject of the severe persecution
campaign which homosexuals have now been suffering from there for years?