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Inside Front Cover: Humanist Canada calls for release of Nigerian Humanist President

…Mubarak Bala…was arrested by Nigerian police on April 28, 2020, following a complaint he had insulted the prophet Mohammad in a social media post. Bala, a former Muslim, has been arrested without formal charges. Bala’s lawyer has not been allowed access to his client.

…Mubarak Bala…was arrested by Nigerian police on April 28, 2020, following a complaint he had insulted the prophet Mohammad in a social media post. Bala, a former Muslim, has been arrested without formal charges. Bala’s lawyer has not been allowed access to his client.

C

anadian Humanists are supporting calls from Humanists International to have Mubarak Bala released from a Nigerian jail. Bala, who is president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was arrested by Nigerian police on April 28, 2020, following a complaint he had insulted the prophet Mohammed in a social media post. Bala, a former Muslim, has been arrested without formal charges. Bala’s lawyer has not been allowed access to his client.

“The right to be charged within 24 hours of arrest and the right to legal counsel are enshrined in Nigerian law. In addition, we would request: if Mr. Bala is charged with a crime, then the charge, or those charges, be heard in a secular as opposed to an Islamic court, as he is a humanist, atheist, and former Muslim,” said Scott Jacobsen, international rights spokesman for Humanist Canada. Apostasy is a capital crime under Islamic Sharia law.

Humanist Canada Vice-President, Lloyd Robertson, said Canadians can support Mr Bala’s defence campaign organized by Humanists International by visiting: http://www.gofundme.com/f/free-mubarak-bala

He added that international support is important for the protection of minorities. Additional information is also available at: https://freemubarakbala.org/.

For more information contact: Scott Jacobsen (778) 988-8070 or Lloyd Robertson (306) 425-9872 vi************@Hu************.ca.

A note on the cover: The dancing plague of 1518 was a case of dancing mania that occurred in Strasbourg, Alsace (now modern- day France), in the Holy Roman Empire in July 1518. Somewhere between 50 and 400 people took to dancing for days. [Wikipedia]