Protest rally planned in London to demand Sheikh Zakzaky’s release

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A protest rally is planned to be held in London on Tuesday against the continued illegal detention of Nigeria Muslim cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky.

The London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) will organize the demonstration at Nigeria’s High Commission in the British capital, starting at 4 PM.

According to the website of the commission, the participants will demand the immediate release of the senior cleric and his wife.

In the last few days, Sheikh Zakzaky’s health has further deteriorated and he is in critical condition. The lead levels in his body are described as so dangerously high as to render immediate treatment a medical emergency.

Zakzaky, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), 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 his left eye.

During the brutal crackdown, three of his sons lost their lives, 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 by his country's authorities.

On Saturday, his son, Mohammad, said that he was shocked by his father’s worsening medical condition after visiting him, stressing that he needed to be immediately hospitalized as “large and dangerous quantities of lead and cadmium have been found in his blood.”

Mohammad said the Nigerian authorities had not taken any action so far, and that they intend to murder his father.

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