Sentenced to Death for WhatsApp Lyrics, Petition for Nigerian Musician's Release Brought …

Sentenced to Death for WhatsApp Lyrics, Petition for Nigerian Musician’s Release Brought to UN Working Group GENEVA (25 September 2023) ADF International and international human rights lawyer Kola Alapinni today filed a complaint to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention advocating for the release of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu—a young Sufi musician sentenced to death and currently imprisoned under the blasphemy law of Kano State in northern Nigeria. Yahaya has been held in prison since his arrest in March of 2020, after which he was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging by a Sharia court. The UN Working Group is a body of independent human rights experts that investigate cases of arbitrary arrest and detention. Yahaya Sharif-Aminu’s case was filed at the Supreme Court of Nigeria in November 2022, and has the potential to overturn the country’s draconian blasphemy law regime. The Supreme Court has yet to announce when the case will be heard. “The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s opinion declaring the continuing prosecution and detention of Yahaya as arbitrary in violation of international law would be of great benefit not only to free Yahaya, but also to highlight the human rights abuses enabled by blasphemy laws in Nigeria,”
Read More