Somaliland court hands poetess 3 year jail term for ‘anti-national activity’

Activist and poetess Naima Ahmed Qorane has been slapped with a three year jail term by a regional court in the break-away region of Somaliland for publishing material deemed to ‘undermining and bringing the state into contempt’.

The court which delivered its verdict today following charges levelled against her by Somaliland Attorney General found Naema guilty of two counts following Facebook posts which she is accused of ‘bringing into disrepute the state and championing the unification of Somalia.’

Goobjoog News correspondent in Hargeisa said lawyers for the accused said they will appeal the verdict noting the charges filed against her were not hinged on Somaliland law.

In March 4, the attorney General charged Naema of two counts-Antinational Activity of a citizen abroad (article 212 of the Penal Code) and Bringing the Nation or the State into Contempt (article 219(2) of the Penal Code).

As stated in the charge sheet dated on 4th March, the first charge relates to a Facebook post allegedly written by Naema in her Facebook account. The prosecution says the post “weakens the existence, unity, and solidarity of the State.”

The second charge is about “insult and defamation against the state circulated in the media,” by Naema, the charge sheet says.

In a sworn affidavit Sunday, lawyers for defendant, Jamaal Hussein Ahmed, Mubarak Abdi Ismail and Jama Ismail Ali said Naema who has been in police custody since January 27 was subjected to abuse and threats of rape by the National Intelligence Agency in Hargeisa.

The lawyers told the court the security officer threatened her with death and rape. “They threatened to unleash on her a Nigerian to do anything he wants (sexually assault her),” the affidavit read in part.

The sentencing of Naema follows a similar verdict against another activist and journalist Abdimalik Muse Oldon who was arrested last February on accusations he was campaigning for President Mohamed Farmaajo ahead of February 8, 2017 elections. He was handed a two year jail term but released a month after sentencing in May 2017.