In a remote impoverished village in the state of Katsina, Nigeria, lives Amina Lawal. A 30-year-old single mother, she spends most of her time looking after her five-month-old daughter Wasila and her three other children.

Despite help from her family, Amina finds life a struggle. She has not had the blessing of education and financial stability as many families benefit from in the UK, nor has she the help of a husband to bring up her children.

In many countries this would be enough to evoke sympathy from the authorities. But in her native state of Katsina, it is her status as a troubled, single mother that could deprive her children of their mother and cost Amina her life.

Amina, who was married at 14 and divorced soon after, has been sentenced to death by stoning for allegedly committing adultery by having a child outside marriage. Under Katsina regional law, admitting to having a baby is tantamount to committing adultery, which is punishable by death.

The sentence imposed on the mother, who campaigners say was originally offered no legal representation, has sent shockwaves through the international community.

One group in particular is aiming to quash the sentence to allow Amina to live her life in a dignified and untroubled manner.

Far removed from the sparse and poverty-stricken village where Amina awaits her fate, in a serene corner of Wimbledon, Merton Amnesty Group is mounting one of the most important campaigns in its history.

Here, in a country where teenage pregnancy rates are among the highest in Europe and unmarried parents are treated the same as any other individual, the "crime" Amina has been sentenced for has sickened members of the group. As a result, they are doing everything they can to save her from the tragedy passed down on her.

They hope the sentence, passed in March this year, will be overturned on appeal this month and have spent hours drumming up support from community leaders and members of the public in a bid to sway the Nigerian authorities.

In a similar case last year, 35-year-old Safiya Hussaini was sentenced to the same fate, but she was acquitted on technical grounds by an appeal court. Merton Amnesty fought hard to publicise this and hopes the same positive outcome could befall Amina.

Helen Carter, the group's secretary, says: "Most people agree that being buried to your neck and then being stoned until you are dead is brutal.

"But the way the legal system there works is that there has to be four witnesses for a man to commit adultery and the man himself would have to confess."

This is why, says Helen, it is only the mother who is convicted and given the death penalty.

Merton Amnesty has set up its own website giving details of the case and offering browsers the chance to sign an online petition in protest against the punishment, which has more than 9,000 signatures to date.

Members also organised a special screening of The Circle, a film about women in Iran, the proceeds from which will be given to support Amina's legal defence.

John Sotiropoulos, the group's campaign co-ordinator, says: "Merton is a particularly active group. It is difficult to quantify what kind of effect publicity can have, but I think things would be very different if there wasn't any.

"It is amazing when we are collecting signatures for our petition outside Centre Court in Wimbledon. There are so many people who could not believe this was happening. If they can spend five minutes to sign a petition to save a woman's life then it really makes a difference."

The group anticipates it will find out the outcome of Amina's case in the next few days. If her appeal is turned down, she will be given a stay of execution until 2004 to allow her to tend her young daughter until she is two years old.

It is not only concern over Amina's execution but the future of her children that has fuelled Merton Amnesty's campaign.

John adds: "No woman deserves this death. The children will be better growing up with the love of their mother instead of growing up in a state intuition."

Both John and Helen and all the members of the group hope their campaigning could bring about a change in the law so that no other mother has to face the prospect of being executed and parted from the children she loves.

"We believe that worldwide publicity is having an impact and we hope what is happening in Merton is happening all over the world," adds Helen.

"We hope our campaign will have a result and it may set a legal precedent. If that doesn't happen then we will continue to campaign against these sentences."

For more information on Merton Amnesty Group's campaign to save Amina, log onto www.mertonai.org/amina/ or phone John on 07879 810 925.

July 12, 2002 10:30