Humanists UK, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has tabled the incarceration of Mubarak Bala, a Nigerian accused of blasphemy, at the 56th Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council.
The NGO, which focuses on the promotion of equality, non-discrimination and human rights, urged the Nigerian government to repeal its laws on blasphemy and release Nigerians who, like Bala, have been imprisoned under such laws.
“Our friend and colleague Mubarak Bala, President of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, is currently serving a prison sentence for posting ‘blasphemous’ content on Facebook that was deemed likely to cause a disturbance,” said Laura Newlyn, the policy and campaigns officer at Humanists UK.
READ ALSO: Kano Court Sentences Mubarak Bala, an Atheist, to 24 Years in Prison for Blasphemy
“The decision of the Court of Appeal in Kano that his sentence be reduced from 24 to five years is a step in the right direction. But Bala should never have been charged in the first place for peacefully expressing his humanist values.”
Bala was arrested in 2020 for allegedly posting blasphemous contents.
TIMELINE OF BALA’S INCARCERATION
Before his arrest, Bala was the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria and staunch advocate of human rights. He challenged religious extremism and was often criticised for his views on religion.
In 2020, he was arrested and detained for blasphemy over comments on Facebook that criticised Islam.
Upon his arrest, he was charged, and then a high court convicted him under the Kano Penal Code and sentenced him to 24 years in prison.
READ ALSO: REPORT: Nigerian Gov’t Contributed Significantly to Human Rights Abuses in 2023
Bala was denied access to his lawyers and family, as well as medical attention, in his first year of detention. His arrest and detention garnered public attention within and outside Nigeria, with many human rights organisations calling for his release.
Mubarak Bala
Shortly after Tinubu’s inauguration as Nigeria’s president in May 2023, Bala penned a letter to him detailing his plight and his experiences in detention, while urging him to use his office as president to grant him a prerogative of mercy and grant his release.
This letter, titled ‘Open Letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu – from Mubarak Bala‘, had its foreword written by Wole Soyinka, Africa’s first Nobel Laureate.
Luck shone on Bala in May, after four years of incarceration, when the Court of Appeal reduced his sentence to five years, leaving him with one year left in prison.
The events of Bala’s arrest are still fresh in the memories of organisations like Humanists UK, which still use their platform to condemn his incarceration.
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