Somali Courts Chief Threatens To Free Men Convicted Of Terrorism In Somaliland

Hargeysa, Somaliland, December 23, 2006 (SL Times) – The Mogadishu-based Islamic courts have threatened to free some convicted terrorists from prisons in Somaliland.

This is according to the chairman of the consultative council of the Union of Islamic Courts, Hassan Dahir Aweys, who said on Ceel Buur radio, "The men (held over terrorism) have men who can help them and have their God. We hope to release them from Somaliland jails as we have released those who were abducted by the warlords in Mogadishu and put in prison."

He said the courts were unhappy with the way the men had been treated and said the Somaliland administration was not different from that of Siyad Barre as it has some of its members.

Source: Haatuf, Hargeysa, in Somali 15 Dec 06