Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Nigeria atheist Mubarak Bala jailed for blaspheming Islam
By Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja
04/05/2022
A Nigerian atheist has been sentenced to 24 years in prison by a high court in the northern state of Kano after being convicted of blaspheming Islam.
Mubarak Bala, the 37-year-old president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, pleaded guilty to all 18 charges and asked for leniency.
He has been in detention since 2020.
A group of Muslims had filed a petition to the authorities accusing Bala of posting uncomplimentary messages about Islam on social media.
Kano has a majority Muslim population. It is one of around a dozen states in northern Nigeria where Islamic law is practised alongside secular laws.
Bala could have faced the death penalty if he was tried in an Islamic court.
UN human rights experts and international rights groups had condemned his detention and called for his release.
Bala renounced his Islamic faith in 2014. He was then reportedly taken to a psychiatric hospital before being discharged . . . .
BBC News, Abuja
04/05/2022
A Nigerian atheist has been sentenced to 24 years in prison by a high court in the northern state of Kano after being convicted of blaspheming Islam.
Mubarak Bala, the 37-year-old president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, pleaded guilty to all 18 charges and asked for leniency.
He has been in detention since 2020.
A group of Muslims had filed a petition to the authorities accusing Bala of posting uncomplimentary messages about Islam on social media.
Kano has a majority Muslim population. It is one of around a dozen states in northern Nigeria where Islamic law is practised alongside secular laws.
Bala could have faced the death penalty if he was tried in an Islamic court.
UN human rights experts and international rights groups had condemned his detention and called for his release.
Bala renounced his Islamic faith in 2014. He was then reportedly taken to a psychiatric hospital before being discharged . . . .
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-60997606
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
