On Thursday, 13 January 2016, Professor Wole Soyinka and other literary personalities held Free Ashraf Fayadh Readings at Freedom Park, Lagos.
Fayadh, 35, a Palestinian artist, curator, and poet, has, according to mondoweiss.net, been sentenced to death by beheading. Saudi Arabian authorities have declared his crime as “apostasy,” or abandoning one’s religion—in this case, renouncing Islam. Several other charges were also leveled against Fayadh, including allegedly photographing women and storing their pictures on his phone, a violation of the country’s Anti-Cyber Crime Law. He pleaded his innocence to all the charges.
Photo Credit Idowu Ogunleye