Iran urges Nigeria to provide
Sheikh Zakzaky with prompt medical care
TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign
Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi has urged the Nigerian government to
immediately provide medical care for the top Shia cleric Sheikh Ibrahim
al-Zakzaky and his wife.
“Nigerian authorities
are expected to take immediate measures to transfer Sheikh Zakzaky out of
detention and provide him with appropriate and prompt medical services,”
Mousavi said on Tuesday, Mehr reported.
Mousavi also expressed
deep concerns about the recent unrest in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, and
condemned the government’s use of force against protestors.
He underlined the need
to ensure security and peace in Nigeria and called on the government to observe
tolerance toward the protestors.
On Monday, Nigerian
security forces killed at least six protesters who were demanding the immediate
release of Sheikh Zakzaky, who has been locked up in a government jail since
2015.
The deadly clashes
occurred in Abuja, where security forces attacked a group of pro-Zakzaky
protesters and opened fire on them using live bullets.
The Islamic Movement in
Nigeria (IMN), led by Sheikh Zakzaky, was the organizer behind the protest
rally, the latest in a series of demonstrations for the release of the top
cleric.
Zakzaky, now 66, has
been in detention since December 2015 after his residence in the city of Zaria
was raided by Nigeria’s forces, during which he was beaten and lost vision in
his left eye.
During the brutal
arrest, three of his sons were also killed, his wife sustained serious wounds,
and more than 300 of his followers were killed.
Zakzaky was charged in
April 2018 with murder, culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, disruption of
public peace, and other accusations. He has pleaded not guilty, vehemently
rejecting all accusations brought up against him.
Recent reports said that
his health has been deteriorating, but prison authorities have prevented him from
getting much-needed treatment.
MH/PA
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