Patrick Okoroafor
This is what I call "Freedom at Last". A Nigerian 31-year-old man who was sentenced to death as a juvenile has expressed his happiness at being released from prison and reunited with his family after such a long time, following a relentless global campaign by Amnesty International. Patrick Okoroafor was just 14 when he was arrested in 1995 and 16 when sentenced to death for armed robbery, a crime he says he didn’t commit.
Amnesty International considered Patrick’s Okoroafor’s trial to have been grossly unfair and repeatedly called for his immediate and unconditional release. Thousands of people in dozens of countries including France, Germany, Ivory Coast, Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, Togo and the UK have taken action for OKoroafor. Actions included letter and card writing, demonstrations and lobbies to Nigerian Embassies.
Upon his release Patrick Okoroafor said:“After Amnesty began its call for my release from prison, and after reading some of the thousands of letters, cards and messages sent to me by Amnesty supporters, I began to hope that I would soon be free in the not too distant future.” Patrick featured regularly in Amnesty International’s annual Greetings Card Campaign and has received more than 10,000 cards and letters from supporters in the UK and across the world.
Congratulations Patrick Okoroafor
No comments:
Post a Comment