FREE PATRICK OKOROAFOR

Patrick has been jailed for the past fourteen years of his life. This year he will be turning 28 years old. He was accused at the age of fourteen of robbery at the age of fourteen which he and the 6 other accused pleaded not guilty. (Patrick actually went to the police station himself, to answer questions concerning his mother's car, which was purchased from one of the suspects of the case. Patrick was detained and added to the list of suspects. He was tortured by the police officers, they pulled out his teeth with pliers and beat him).

Without appeal and without the adherence to international law, Patrick and the 6 other minors were sentenced to death. While in 2001, the High Courts ruled the judgement for Patrick as illegal and null and void. He was instead sentenced to life imprisonment. The other 6 who were alittle older than Patrick (but still all under the age of 18) were publicly executed, they were lined up and shot to death.


Today Patrick sits in a lonely cell in Aba Prison in Abia State, Nigeria and suffers from asthma attacks described by the prison guards as "life threathening" and his condition "worsens daily".
He is held held under the ruling: "during the pleasure of the governor of Imo State"
In other words, it is by the discretion of the Imo State Governor, that he is either released or spends the rest of his life in confinement. When Patrick wrote to the governor in 2001 pleading for pardon, he stated:

"The tribunal ritual was a nightmare to me because I%u2019m totally innocent of the charges levelled against me, I have spent these years of undeserved incarceration crying, praying and reading%u2026%u201D His plea was rejected in 2002

What You can DO:

In cases where unfair imprisonment has incited international attention, has been proven to force those in power to reform their decisions from fear of international scrutiny and draw nearer a release date for those that have been sentenced extremely excessive terms. And in the case if Patrick, an immediate release is being demanded by the global community. It is in numbers. Use your international residency and influence to impact the deciding factor over the freedom of another man's life:

Here's how you Do you part:

TWO WAYS:
1. Sign this petition

2.Print this letter out,

http://www.amnesty-fricktal.ch/Monatsbriefe/Mai/05Nigeria.doc

simply sign it and mail it to the address on the letter.


This will take literally one minute out of your day, but has the power to restore the freedom of another.