DHAKA: The Maldives’ top court has overturned a sentence of death by stoning issued to a woman found guilty of adultery.

Local media report, says the BBC.

The woman, who reportedly gave birth out of wedlock, was convicted by a magistrate’s court on Sunday.

However, the Supreme Court quashed the sentence late on Sunday, saying the ruling had violated legal procedures.

The island nation has previously issued flogging sentences to those convicted of extramarital sex.

Sunday’s initial sentence had sparked outrage on social media and was criticized by rights groups.

The sentence to death by stoning was unprecedented in the country, which is known as a luxury tourist destination, the BBC’s South Asia editor Charles Haviland reports.

In 2013, the case of a 15-year-old girl sentenced to 100 lashes after being found guilty of premarital sex prompted global concern. The High Court later overturned the verdict, saying she had been wrongly convicted.

Extramarital sex is illegal in the Maldives, although the ban does not apply to tourists.

BDST: 2101 HRS, OCT 19, 2015
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