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Country Listing: Nigeria Name: Beko
Ransome-Kuti Alert Dates: 29 June 1998, 2 October 1995, 13 June 1995 Case Number: NI9559.KUT Human Rights Issues
AAAS is pleased to announce the release of prisoner of conscience Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti. A medical doctor by profession, Dr. Ransmome-Kuti is also former head of the Nigerian Medical Association, President of the Campaign for Democracy, and President of the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights. On 15 June 1998, Nigeria's new military leader General Abdulsalam Abubakar, ordered the immediate release of nine prominent political prisoners, including Dr. Ransome-Kuti. However, it is not clear when they will be released. The releases were reportedly intended to facilitate the process of national reconciliation and reconstruction. Dr. Ransome-Kuti was arrested on 27 July 1995. He was charged as an accessory to treason for making public the lack of evidence against 43 main defendants accused of plotting a coup in March 1995. Following a secret trial by a military tribunal, which was reported to be grossly unfair, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. His sentence was later reduced to 15 years' imprisonment. No further action is requested. (Sources of information include The New York Times, Amnesty International, and Physicians for Human Rights.) |
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