Exclusive: Suhaila Ibraheem el-Zakzaky, exiled daughter of jailed Shi’ite leader in Nigeria Sheikh el-Zakzaky says in first major interview she’s hopeful after US designates father ‘political prisoner’

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Kristi Pelzel

Kristi Pelzel is a contributor to Today News Africa in Washington D.C. Kristi focuses on the US Department of State and the United Nations. She holds a master’s degree from Georgetown University.

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The U.S. State Department designated Sheikh Ibrahim el-Zakzaky, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), and his spouse, as the only “political prisoners and detainees” in the Nigeria 2020 Country Report on Human Rights published this month. IMN a is popular religious movement in northern Nigeria with close ties to Iran.