In a letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari, Piotr Cywinski, director of Auschwitz Memorial in Poland, says he is ready to be imprisoned in Nigeria so that Umar Farouq, who sentenced to 10 years for blasphemy, can regain freedom.
The 13-year-old boy was convicted by a Sharia court in Kano after he was accused of using “disparaging language on Allah” during a disagreement with his friend.
In his letter to Buhari, Cywinski said that he and 119 volunteers would serve a month in a Nigerian prison on Farouq’s behalf if the president is unable to facilitate the teenager’s release.
“I permit myself to write to you personally about a young boy named Omar Farouq, who was convicted recently in a Sharia court in Kano State in north-west Nigeria after being accused of blasphemy used during an argument with a friend,” he said.
“I wish to request the pardon of this 13-year-old boy. Regardless of what he said, he cannot be treated as fully aware and responsible, given his age.
“If it turns out that the words of this child absolutely require 120 months of imprisonment, and even you are not able to change that, I suggest that in place of the child, 120 adult volunteers from all over the world, gathered by us myself personally among them should each serve a month in a Nigerian prison.
“In total, the price for the child’s transgression will be the same, and we will all avoid the worst.
“If you agree to grant clemency, or to the above proposal in lieu of punishment, I will make an attempt to provide financial help for the boy’s proper education. This way, instead of a destroyed young man, Nigeria will gain an aware and educated young citizen.
“You will undoubtedly agree with the statement that human rights begin with the rights of the child. I kindly ask you to consider my proposal favorably.”
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has also called on the Kano state government to urgently reverse the sentencing of Umar Farouq, a 13-year-old boy, to 10 years in prison for blasphemy.
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