STONING IN SUDAN

Early day motion 1468, tabled 15 May 2007 by Edward Davey (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 76 members.

That this House notes with concern the sentencing to death of two Sudanese women, Sadia Idriss Fadul and Amouna Abdallah Dalloum, for alleged adultery; further notes that according to Amnesty International the women were not given a lawyer during their trial, which was conducted in Arabic, which was not their first language, with no interpreter provided; further notes that their male co-defendants were released through lack of evidence; calls for the Sudanese government to commute these sentences immediately; further calls for international pressure to be exerted on the Sudanese government to recognise its responsibility to its citizens as a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and urges the Sudanese government to guarantee that trials will be carried out fairly and justly and to abolish the barbaric punishment of stoning.

Signatures by party: Labour 43, Liberal Democrat 20, Conservative 4, DUP 4, Social Democratic and Labour Party 2, Independent Labour 1, Scottish National Party 1, UUP 1.