Protests in Somaliland as military court issues death sentences

Hundreds of residents on Monday staged a protest in the towns of Sheikh, Nothern Somalia, against  death sentences handed down in Somaliland to eight people convicted of killing Berbera Port Town Police Commander.

A military court in breakaway Somaliland on Sunday sentenced eight soldiers to death for the murders of  Abdirisak Yusuf Mohamed Asary, Berbera Port Town Police Commander.

“We do not believe justice was served by the court. We are asking them to review the case,” said Osman Abdi, who participated the demonstration.

He added, “We intend to fight for justice for the eight men.”

Protesters say the eight men did not deserve the death sentence in a case that has raised many unanswered questions about police conduct.

According to the military court, armed assailants killed the late security commander in a gun attack in March this year.

“The court sentenced eight men to death penalty, The court found these defendants guilty of being involved in the killing of the Berbara police commissioner and they confessed to it,” said the judge.

The court decision follows a series of targeted killings against high ranking military officers inside Somaliland barracks in recent years.

The European Union, the United Nations and human rights campaigners have all urged Somalia authorities to reinstate the moratorium.

In 2012, a military court in Somaliland sentenced to death 17 civilians who were accused of attacking a military base.

Violence is not common in Somaliland which enjoyed a relative stability for decades.

Somaliland, a former British colony, declared independence in 1991 when Somalia’s central government in Mogadishu collapsed. The international community does not recognize Somaliland as a separate country.