TEHRAN – Nigerian seminary students in Qom have expressed their solidarity with the imprisoned leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky.

The students took to the streets of Qom on Friday afternoon to call on the Nigerian government to release Sheikh Zakzaky, according to the Iran Press.

The demonstrators also called on the Nigerian government to provide urgent medical attention for Sheikh Zakzaky who has suffered from poisoning in prison.  

Latest reports from Nigeria suggest the cleric’s health condition has deteriorated.

The cleric’s son, Mohammad, has told various media outlets that his father was in dire need of medical treatment, as “large and dangerous quantities of lead and cadmium have been found in his blood.” 

He said the authorities intended to murder his father since they were denying him urgent medication.

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.

According to human rights groups, Nigerian forces have killed at least 400 members of the IMN over the past four years.

MH/PA