[AlAhram] A Nigerian court on Wednesday refused to release a Shia Moslem holy man who has been in jug since 2015 following deadly festivities between troops and his supporters, his lawyer said.Ibrahim Zakzaky,
| ...former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Nigeria, he converted to Shi'ism after a visit to Iran, and now is a fiery Iranian sockpuppet. He is also in our archives as Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky,... |
| ...the visible expression of Iran's Khomeinist effort. Like the Muslim Brotherhood, spinoff groups are much more violent. One of the spinoffs from the IMN is currently known as Boko Haram... |
At the state high court in the northern city of Kaduna, soldiers were on guard, barring access to both the media and the public in a move denounced by his lawyer Maxwell Kyon.
"We find that to be quite troubling because the definition of free trial should include access to the courtroom by the public," Kyon told AFP after the hearing.
"My client was in court today. The court refused to grant him bail."
His legal team had called for his release on health grounds, saying he needed urgent medical care abroad but the court denied the request.
"The court is of the view that we were not able to establish that he is sick, and that even if he is sick the (intelligence services) can provide the medical attention he needs," he said.
The judge acknowledged the defendant had been kept in jug for nearly three years but pledged a "speedy trial" would take place, Kyon added.
Zakzaky was remanded in jug until a further hearing on January 22.
The pro-Iranian holy man's court appearance comes after fresh unrest involving the IMN last week, which human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
groups said left at least 45 people dead.
Soldiers and police allegedly gave the demonstrators a whiff of grapeshot calling for Zakzaky's release in Abuja. The army put the corpse count at six with 400 IMN supporters incarcerated
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Zakzaky, who is in his mid-sixties, has been at loggerheads for decades with Nigeria's secular authorities because of his call for an Iranian-style Islamic revolution.
He lost the sight in one eye during the 2015 festivities in the northern city of Zaria, during which soldiers killed more than 300 IMN supporters and buried them in mass graves.
Northern Nigeria is mainly Sunni Moslem with Shia in the minority.