Somalia: Journalist sneaked to military court months after detention in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A renowned journalist was on Sunday sneaked into a Mogadishu-based military court, Somalia Journalists Syndicate [SJS] said, almost four months after his abduction and subsequent incarceration by National Intelligence Security Agency [NISA] agents.

Mohamed Abduwahaab alias Abuuja, who has been in detention since March 7, worked for Radio Hiigsi as an editor prior to his arrest and no family member or fellow scribes have been able to visit him in prison despite growing pressure from international community and local rights groups.

Although details about his alleged crimes remained scanty, the government, however, linked him to connections with the Al-Shabaab terror group in a statement released in April, adding that he'd been among a group of militants who shot and killed a woman in Mogadishu.

Despite taking long to present him to court, NISA is said to have sneaked him on Sunday to a military court in Mogadishu before transferrable him to the Central Prison, which is used for holding suspected terrorists and high degree crime offenders, SJS said.

At the court, officials told SJS, Abuuja was not given access to his family and attorneys, who were after all not aware of the new developments. It's not clear what charges were pressed against him, but he's likely to face terrorism-related cases based on the statement that had been released by FGS in April.

At first, Abuuja was arrested on February 28 in Mogadishu following a critical article he wrote about the Somali security forces but was released on March 2nd. However, NISA agents are said to have picked him five days later and have since held him incommunicado.

Before Sunday's development, SJS, Somalia Media Association [SOMA], Amnesty International, and several rights groups have been calling for his release. In solidarity with him, the teams have also been coordinating demonstrations across Somalia.

According to SJS and SOMA, two lawyers from Heegan Law Firm; Dahir Mohamed Ali and Isaq Abdullahi Hassan have been hired to represent him in court. It's not clear when he will return to court for defense but his case could be prosecuted expeditiously due to pressure from civil rights groups.

“It is strange that journalist Mohamed Abduwahaab has been held incommunicado for three months now as a secret strategy to silence critical journalists in the pretext of the anti-terror campaign,” Abdalla Ahmed Mumin, the SJS Secretary-General said in a statement.

The team questioned the decision to present Abuuja in a military court instead of subjecting him to civilian trials, arguing that the government was hell-bent to trample upon freedom of expression and association in the Horn of Africa nation.

“Journalism is not a crime and the use of military court rather than a civilian court will endanger the future of free expression in Somalia, we, therefore, oppose any use of military tribunal for the case of Mohamed," he added in the statement.

Similar sentiments were made by SOMA which announced securing legal services for the embattled journalist. Abuuja, it said, was a victim of blatant disregard of the rule of law by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo's regime, adding that "we hope he will get justice".

“Mohamed Abduwahaab Abuuja has been victimized as a result of his journalism. We are glad and committed to defending him,” defense lawyer Dahir Mohamed Ali said in a statement after being assigned to lead the defense team.

Working as a journalist in Somalia is regarded as a tough task given the daily oppression engineered by the federal government and Al-Shabaab militants, who punish reporters for exposing the rot in the country.

According to a report released by Amnesty International in February dubbed "we live in perpetual fear", NISA was linked as the most feared agency which had allegedly abducted, harassed, detained, and even executed many reporters. Those who are lucky, the report said, had sought asylum in other countries.

In April, NISA announced plans to pursue a case against Voice of America journalist Harun Maruf, who among others, was accused of cooperating with Al-Shabaab. The claim was dismissed by several Somalis as "oppression" against reporters.

During the May 3rd press freedom day, President Farmajo promised to revise some draconian laws which he agreed that were repressive to media operations in Somalia. But the media, he added, must be guided with existing regulations for now.

GAROWE ONLINE