WRITTEN QUESTION E-0505/02

Submission: To the Council

12 February 2002

Subject: Condemnations by stoning in Sudan

According to data from Human Rights Watch, on December 8, 2001, a criminal court in the city of Nyala, in South Sudan, sentenced 18-year-old Ms. Abok Alpha Akok, who was pregnant at the time, to death by stoning for adultery, while the man with whom she had sexual relations was not convicted due to lack of evidence. It is noted that the Sudanese Government ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in March 1986, under which the death penalty is prohibited for pregnant women.

Does the Council intend to pressure the Sudanese Government to uphold its international commitments so that the death sentence by stoning is not carried out, but a new trial is conducted in accordance with legal procedures that ensure legal representation for Ms. Abok Alpha Akok and access to a language she understands?