(AP) – A court in northern Nigeria has sentenced two women to death by stoning for allegedly committing adultery, and both will soon appeal the sentences, a human rights group said Friday. The sentences, passed down in Nigeria’s Bauchi state in September and early October, are the first of their kind in over a year in the mainly Muslim north, where 12 states have introduced controversial Islamic Shariah criminal codes since 1999. Under Shariah law, men can only be convicted of adultery on the basis of witness statements, while pregnancy is considered sufficient evidence to convict women. In all but one case, men have been cleared, as Shariah courts found there was insufficient evidence to prove they had sex with the women. Tests to determine children’s paternity have not been conducted by the courts.

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