A 20-year-old woman faces being stoned to death over accusations of adultery in Sudan, reports BBC Africa. 

She separated from her husband in 2020 and returned to living with her family. But a year later, he accused her of adultery and a court in the city of Kosti, in Sudan's White Nile state, found her guilty of the alleged adultery in June 2022.

The case has fuelled anger among human rights campaigners who say the woman was not given access to a lawyer while in custody and was unaware of the charges against her.

"We have grounds to believe she was illegally forced into signing a confession by the police," says Mossaad Mohamed Ali, executive director of the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS).

A government official told the BBC that efforts to prevent the execution of her sentence are being hindered by the absence of government ministers in the country, saying, “We don't have a minister who can intervene to demand her release”.

Sudan has been ruled by a military junta since October 2021, plunging the country into chaos and obstructing democratisation processes that had been started during the December Revolution in 2019.

Campaigners see this sentence as a sign that lawmakers are rolling back the small gains for women’s rights made under the country’s transitional government.

“Most cases of adultery in Sudan are issued against women, highlighting the discriminatory application of Sudan’s criminal legislation, in violation of international law which guarantees equality before the law and non-discrimination based on gender,” the International Federation for Human Rights said.