|
Hargeysa, Somaliland, July 14, 2012 (SL Times) – Hargeysa regional court
sentenced traditional leader, Boqor Bur Madow, to one year in prison.
In a telephone interview with Haatuf Newspaper, the presiding judge for
the case, Osman Ibrahim Dahir (Osman Fanah,) said Bur Madow was
convicted based on laws 268 and 124 which make it illegal to defame
political leaders.
Judge Osman Ibrahim Dahir added that the government had also tried to
charge him with violating law 215 but that law only covers
transgressions that take place inside the country, whereas the defendant
was outside the country when he was alleged to have committed those
crimes, so the court denied the government's request on this matter. The
judge went on to say that, similarly, the government tried to use clause
212 which concerns spreading false news in the international media, but
the government did not provide evidence of this, so this government
requested was rejected too.
Asked if the government influenced the court’s handling of the case,
judge Osman Ibrahim Dahir denied that there was such influence, then
added if the government had any influence on the judgment of the court,
the government’s requests would not have been rejected.
Boqor Madow has already spent about 4 months in jail prior to his
conviction.
|
