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It has taken close to a decade for a member of Somalia’s military regime
to be brought in front of a court of law. But that day is finally here,
or is almost here. We say almost because the US Supreme Court is, at
this point, not trying the case but is looking at whether the case
should be tried in the US. The Supreme Court’s is expected to reach a
decision sometime this summer. That decision will establish whether Gen.
Muhammad Ali Samatar will be tried or not. If the decision is yes he can
be tried in the US for the crimes he committed during the military
dictatorship, it will be a great victory for the cause of justice. On
the other hand, if the US Supreme decides that the US has no
jurisdiction over the crimes he committed in a foreign country, it would
not mean that he is not guilty of the crimes he is being accused of. All
that it would mean is that the US legal system did not think it was
within its authority to try him for the crimes he committed as an
official in a foreign government.
But regardless of what the Supreme Court decides, there is no doubt that
at this stage something important has already been achieved. For one
thing, this case brought to the fore the issue of human rights,
especially among Somalis. The fact that Muhammad Ali Samatar is being
sued in a court of law close to three decades after the crimes he
committed has made it clear to people who are in power today, or were in
power in the past, that they may have to one day account for their
crimes. Many other officials in the military dictatorship and its
accomplices are now watching in fear and dismay, saying to themselves if
the highest ranking member of the regime has been dragged to a court and
exposed to the world as a war criminal, what is going to happen to you?
And this explains why they are supporting him. Some of the arguments
that they have used to defend him are: he is too old, many years have
passed, let us forget the past, and suing him will divide Somalis. But
these are lame excuses that no one will buy. So they come up with the
argument that he was selectively targeted because he comes from an
oppressed clan. No doubt, Muhammad Ali Samatar does come from an
oppressed clan, but saying he should not be prosecuted for his crimes
because he is from an oppressed clan makes about as much sense as saying
a black American who commits a crime should not be prosecuted because he
belongs to an oppressed minority. Another one of their arguments is that
he is not the only one who committed crimes during the military
dictatorship, therefore, he should not be prosecuted until all those who
perpetrated human rights violations are brought to court. Again, it is
true that he is not the only one who engaged in heinous crimes and that
everyone who committed crimes should be prosecuted, but it is absurd to
say that no one should be prosecuted until each and everyone who
committed crimes is brought to court. The fact of the matter is that you
have to start somewhere, and what is more appropriate than starting with
the highest-ranking living member of that evil regime.
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