Advocacy Statement / 2022 / Nigeria / UN Human Rights Council / Item 3: Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights /
Advocacy Statement / 2022 / UN Human Rights Council / Item 3: Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights /
How we helped a Somali professor persecuted for blasphemy and apostasy to reach safety.
The persecution
In 2019, Professor Mahmoud Jama Ahmed became the target of religious fundamentalists because of his criticism of Islam. Arrested in March 2019, he spent 307 days in jail on blasphemy charges. After being released on presidential pardon in February 2020, some Imams started preaching that Mahmoud should be killed, because he am an ‘apostate of Islam’ and apostates should be killed even if they repent.
One year in hiding
Mahmoud and his family left Somalia and found shelter in a neighbouring country, where they lived in hiding for one long year thanks to the support of Humanists International, who provided financial assistance.
Safety
In April 2021, Mahmoud and his family managed to resettle to a safe country, where they are slowly rebuilding their lives. As confirmed by Mahmoud himself: "All this could not have been possible without the support of Humanists International."