IHRC’s Free Zakzaky campaign asks campaigners to please send an email to the African Union and demand its intervention on denial of amnesty to Zakzakys amid Covid-19 crisis. A model email and contact details of the African Union are provided below. Please forward any responses you receive to IHRC at wajahat@ihrc.org
Background
Requested Action
Model email
Recipient Addresses
Background
The current Covid-19 pandemic crisis is still ongoing. On April 9, Buhari pardoned 2500 prisoners from Nigeria’s prisons. The pardon includes prisoners aged over 60 and those suffering from severe health conditions. However, this pardon did not include Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife Muallima Zeenah, who are both over 60 and have severe health conditions.
The Sheikh and his wife have been kept in illegal detention for over four years. The federal high court of Nigeria has ordered the release of the Sheikh and his wife including compensation. However, the state authorities have decided to prosecute the couple and imprison them in the Kaduna State prison where the conditions of living pose a threat for their wellbeing, especially in the current pandemic climate.
We are urging the Nigerian authorities to release Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife Muallima Zeenah, other members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria and other political and relevant prisoners. This is a policy that needs to be implemented quickly in Nigeria, given the worsening coronavirus pandemic.
Requested Action
Model email
If you are emailing, please use the following in the subject line:
Denial of Amnesty for Sheikh Zakzaky Unacceptable
H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat
Chair African Union Commission
PO Box 3243 Roosevelt Street (Old Airport Area) W21K19,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Re: Denial of Amnesty for Sheikh Zakzaky Unacceptable
Dear H.E. Mousa Faki Mahamat,
I am shocked to find out that the Nigerian President’s amnesty on 9 April to 2500 prisoners did not include Sheikh El-Zakzaky and Muallima Zeenah, and indeed other political prisoners. The Sheikh and his wife are both aged over 60 and are suffering from severe health conditions. Last week, an academic forum of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria raised concerns about the further deteriorating health condition of Sheikh Zakaky and his wife, based on the new information.
Sheikh El-Zakzaky and Muallima Zeenah continue to be held in illegal detention despite a 2016 Federal High Court ruling that their detention is unlawful and unconstitutional. I urge your government to release Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, his wife Muallima Zeenah and other political prisoners immediately. Their continued illegal detention in Kaduna State prison poses a high risk to their health, especially in the current COVID19 outbreak.
This is a policy that needs to be implemented quickly in Nigeria not just for the Sheikh and his wife, who both have underlying health conditions, but for all political prisoners wherever possible for the sake of justice and also the sake of Nigerian society as a whole.
[Your name]
African Union’s Contact Details:
Email: dic@africa-union.org
Postal Address: PO Box 3243 Roosevelt Street (Old Airport Area) W21K19 Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 7844
In the current circumstances we do not advise sending letters by post.
