Iran Voices Readiness to Offer Medical Assistance to Sheikh Zakzaky

On Monday, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) left Nigeria, along with his wife, for medical treatment in India.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Iran is ready to help Sheikh Zakzaky, wishing him good health and immediate recovery from illness.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran supports these developments and expresses its readiness for any form of help,” Mousavi said on Tuesday.

He hoped that Sheikh Zakzaky’s departure for India would “create a better opportunity to solve long-standing problems between Islamic Movement of Nigeria and the government and would ensure the rights of Shia Muslims, remove the movement’s limitations and free prisoners.”

The top cleric has been in detention since December 2015 after his home in Zaria was brutally raided by Nigeria’s forces, during which he was beaten and lost his left eye.

During the violent crackdown, three of his sons lost their lives, his wife sustained serious wounds and more than 300 of his followers were killed and buried on mass graves.