Abuja, 27 April, 2022 / 10:20 am (ACI Africa).
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a UK-based human rights agency, is appealing to people who support the right to freedoms of expression and religion to participate in an ongoing protest against what the entity has referred to as a harsh sentencing of an activist in Nigeria.
Earlier this month, a High Court in Nigeria’s Kano State sentenced Mubarak Bala, the president of the Nigerian Humanist Society to 24 years behind bars on blasphemy charges, a decision that CSW described as a “gross violation” of the right to the freedoms of expression.
In a Monday, April 25 report, CSW reported that plans to protest the Nigerian court order are already underway and called for more support to push for the release of the activist.
CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said, in reference to the planned protests, “We fully endorse the protest and support calls for Mr. Bala’s sentence to be overturned and for Nigeria’s blasphemy laws to be repealed.”
“We encourage all those who support the right to freedoms of expression and religion or belief to participate in this protest in solidarity with of Mr. Bala and his family, and to send a message to the Nigerian authorities that no one should be harassed and imprisoned on account of their religion or belief,” Mr. Mervyn said.
