Sheikh Zakzaky, his wife in dreadful conditions in Nigerian prison

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Popular leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky and his wife are still in custody and suffering from serious health conditions as a result of lack of access to adequate medical care, a Nigerian cleric in Iran said.

The representative of Nigerian clerics in Iran, Mohammad al-Shuaib, said the last time there was news on Zakzaky’s health conditions, it was about his severe eye injury.

He added that currently there is no information about Zakzaky’s health conditions because he is not allowed to meet his friends or family.

Shuaib said Zakzaky’s wife is also being kept in custody despite her severe injuries following Nigerian security forces’ attack on their house.

The cleric went on to say that Nigerian physicians have been unable to remove all the bullets from her body and that the authorities do not allow her to go abroad for treatment.

Sheikh Zakzaky has been in detention since late last year.

On December 12, 2015, Nigerian soldiers brutally attacked peaceful Shiite Muslims attending a ceremony at a religious center in the city of Zaria, accusing them of blocking the convoy of the army’s chief of staff and attempting to assassinate him.

The following day, Nigerian forces raided Sheikh Zakzaky’s home and arrested him after killing those attempting to protect him.

Both incidents led to the deaths of hundreds of members of the religious community, including three of the cleric’s sons.

Sheikh Zakzaky himself was seriously injured in the second attack and his health has deteriorated since.

Human rights organizations have urged a full investigation into the deadly assaults.

According to Islamic Human Rights Commission, the Nigerian military secretly buried hundreds of bodies in graves after storming Zakzaky’s house.




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