Qom Seminary slams Nigeria for
mistreatment of Sheikh Zakzaky
TEHRAN – The Society of
Qom Seminary Teachers has strongly denounced the Nigerian government for its
mistreatment of Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky, a top Shiite cleric and leader of
the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN).
Through its “inhumane
and illegal” measures, backed by the U.S., the Zionist regime and the Al Saud,
the Nigerian government has killed many Muslims, including the children of
Sheikh Zakzaky, the society said in a statement on Monday.
In continuation of its savage
actions, the Nigerian government is now seeking to poison the Shiite leader and
increase pressures against Muslims in the African country, it added, according
to Tasnim.
The Iranian clerics also
condemned the self-proclaimed advocates of human rights around the world for
their deafening silence over the suffering of the Muslim leader.
The society further
stressed that the Nigerian government is responsible for the life of Sheikh
Zakzaky, calling for his immediate release.
A number of university
students also voiced their protest to the Nigerian government over detention of
Sheikh Zakzaky.
Gathering in front of
the Iranian Foreign Ministry building on Monday, they also criticized the
ministry’s inaction with regard to the issue.
Sheikh Zakzaky has been
held in detention since 2015 and was charged just in April 2018 with murder,
culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, disruption of public peace and other
accusations. He has pleaded not guilty.
In 2016, Nigeria’s
federal high court ordered his unconditional release from jail following a
trial, but the government has so far refused to set him free.
The top cleric, who is
in his mid-sixties, lost his left eyesight in a raid which was carried out by
the Nigerian army on his residence in the northern town of Zaria in December
2015.
During the raid,
Zakzaky’s wife sustained serious wounds too and more than 300 of his followers
and three of his sons were killed. Zakzaky, his wife, and a large number of the
cleric’s followers have since been in custody.
MH/PA
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