Ruling against IMN Threatens Basic Human Rights of All Nigerians: HRW
The court ruled on July 26, 2019 that activities of the Shia movement amount to “acts of terrorism and illegality” and ordered the government to ban the religious group. Nigeria’s presidency then announced the ban on July 28.
“The sweeping court ruling against the Shia movement threatens the basic human rights of all Nigerians,” said Anietie Ewang, Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The government should seek to reverse the ban, which prohibits the religious group’s members from exercising their right to meet and carry out peaceful activities.”
“Allegations of criminality do not present legitimate grounds to ban the activities of a religious group, including protests for justice and the release of their leader,” Ewang said. “The ban on the Shia movement may portend an even worse security force crackdown on the group, which could have dire human rights implications throughout Nigeria.”
On Sunday, the Nigerian government banned the Shia group following a court decision allowing authorities to call it a “terrorist” organization.
The office of President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement on Sunday that the government “had to act” against IMN before the situation got out of control.
“Proscription of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) has nothing to do with banning the larger numbers of peaceful and law-abiding Shia in the country from practicing their religion, instead it was to discourage wanton violence, murder and willful destruction of public and private property,” the presidency said in a statement.
The authorities still need to publish the court order in the state gazette and two newspapers for it to come into force.
Supporters and members of the IMN have been organizing peaceful protest rallies in the capital Abuja and elsewhere to demand the release of IMN leader and senior Shia cleric Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky.
Nigerian security forces have attacked and killed tens of protesters in recent months.
Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife have been in detention since December 2015, after his residence in the city of Zaria was raided by Nigerian forces, during which he was beaten and lost his left eye. Three of his sons and more than 300 of his followers were killed in the brutal crackdown, while his wife sustained serious wounds.
In 2016, Nigeria’s federal high court ordered Zakzaky’s unconditional release from jail following a trial, but the government has so far refused to set him free.
