Nigerian minor acquitted on appeal following blasphemy conviction
HAMZA IBRAHIM A court in northern Nigeria has acquitted a minor at an appeal hearing after he had been sentenced to 10 years in prison with menial labour under Islamic law in a conviction that caused a global outcry. In August, a sharia court in the northern city of Kano handed Omar Farouq the jail term following accusations that he made blasphemous comments in an argument. The judges who acquitted him yesterday said he was 17 at the time of his sentencing and not 13 as stated in previous hearings. His initial conviction was condemned by rights groups, the United…
