At The Multicultural Politic, we applaud all those who were involved in the campaign to save Sakine Mohammadi Ashtani, a 43 year old woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery today, as it appears that the Iranian Government has responded to the international outcry by reviewing her death sentence. Her life has been saved by all those who participated whether on Twitter or old fashioned petitions and letter writing, you are all heroes. We now publish here an Amnesty International appeal for a Nigerian prisoner, Patrick Okoroafor may his campaign also receive similar attention.

Patrick Obinna Okoroafor was 14 when he was arrested in 1995 and has now been in prison for 15 years – half of his lifetime.

Patrick was initially sentenced to death for robbery. In 2001, when a Nigerian High Court judgement declared his death sentence to be illegal, his sentence was changed to one of indefinite detention ‘during the pleasure of the governor’ of Imo State. On 29 May 2009, after campaigning by Amnesty International, Patrick’s sentence was reduced to 10 years imprisonment, starting immediately.

If Patrick completes his sentence he will have spent a total of 24 years in prison – for a crime he says he did not commit. Besides Patrick’s age at the time of arrest, there were many irregularities in his trial and subsequent detention. He also alleges that he was tortured. Amnesty is calling for his immediate release.

Send an appeal to the Nigerian authorities now

View clips and photo galleries of activists campaigning for Patrick on the Protect The Human website