Khartoum, Sudan- Intisar Sharif Abdalla was sentenced to be stoned to death for committing adultery Thursday. She is currently being held in prison with her baby son according to Reuters.
Abdalla was sentenced by the Ombada criminal court on April 22. Her lawyers are filing for appeals on grounds that the defendant was under psychological strain. However, The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA), a network of civil society groups, claims "Although this appeal is in process, Intisar ostensibly remains at risk of being stoned and in real terms, her life is still very much on the line," as reported by NDTV.
Abdalla's age remains unknown, while some believe her to be 20, records indicate her to be younger.
Sudan is one of the few countries in which death by stoning is a legal form of punishement. Usually flogging (violent whipping) is the more common form of punishment for adultery and drinking, however, stoning is very much a part of the criminal code of law in Sudan.
Stoning to death is a form of punishment, where the person's lower body (from the hip down) is burried in the ground to prevent him/her from trying to escape, while he/she is being violently hit to death by stones from a number of people. The act is very bloody and torturous.
Many activitis are pushing the international community to outlaw this form of punishment as it violates basic standards of human rights. The sentence of Abadalla has rekindled this rage.
