Thursday, March 21, 2013
A court in Hargeisa on Wednesday (March 20th)
sentenced clan elder Rabi Yusuf Abdullahi to two years in jail for
traveling to Mogadishu in August to participate in the formation of the
Somali federal government.
"He took part in meetings that are against the independence of
Somaliland," Marodi Jeh Regional Magistrate Osman Ibrahim Dahir said
when reading the sentence. "He was among those who helped form Somalia's
parliament and he went to Somalia without permission."
Defence attorney Mohamed Ahmed Abokor denied the charges against
Abdullahi, saying his client had travelled to Mogadishu to take care of
his property.
Somaliland Deputy Attorney General Said Yusuf Abdi told Sabahi the
prosecution was also unsatisfied with the court ruling, finding the
sentence too lenient. He said both the defence and prosecution have
filed appeals.
Abdullahi, the sultan of the Idagale clan, was arrested on February
12th after returning from a trip to the United Arab Emirates. Abdullahi
was also arrested in 2009 after he attended Transitional Federal
Government meetings in Mogadishu.