DATE=3/25/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-287953

TITLE=NIGERIA/ SHARIA (S)

BYLINE=LUIS RAMIREZ

DATELINE=ABIDJAN

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: An Islamic appeals court in Nigeria's northern Sokoto state has acquitted a 35-year old woman who had been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. We get more from V-O-A's Luis Ramirez at our West Africa Bureau in Abidjan.

TEXT: The Islamic court struck down the death sentence that had been handed down last October after Safiya Husseini gave birth to a child out of wedlock.

Under Sharia, a divorced woman who has sexual intercourse and conceives a child without remarrying commits adultery.

Her attorneys won the appeal after arguing that Ms. Husseini, who is illiterate, had initially misunderstood interrogators' questions.

Analysts had widely predicted that Ms. Husseini would win her appeal in a case that drew widespread international attention.

Nigerian womens' groups hailed the court's decision as a victory for women's rights.

The imposition of Sharia in 12 of Nigeria's predominantly Muslim northern states has deeply strained relations between the country's Muslims and Christians. (SIGNED)

NEB/LR/KL/RAE