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Reporters Without Borders is "dismayed" by the three-year jail
sentence and fine of 6 million Somaliland shillings (around 1,000
dollars) that a court in Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway
northwestern territory of Somaliland, passed yesterday on Mohamud Abdi
Jama, the editor of the independent newspaper Waheen, for allegedly
libelling local officials.
"This sentence has all the hallmarks of summary and punitive justice,"
Reporters Without Borders said. "The court should have first
established whether or not anyone was defamed and, if they were, a
more measured and just penalty should have been imposed. Imprisonment
is clearly disproportionate for defamation. We urge the courts to
reverse this decision on appeal."
Judge Ali Sudi Diriye found Jama guilty of defaming Somaliland's chief
of police and the head of the territory's power company (Somaliland
Electricity Agency) by publishing "false and misleading reports" about
alleged nepotism within these institutions.
Jama was incarcerated in Hargeisa's main prison immediately after the
trial. His lawyer said he would appeal.
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