A Somali journalist who was held over rape report was freed atlast. Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim was set free after Somalia's attorney general confirmed the original investigation misled the court.
Full story: This reporter was imprisoned for interviewing a woman who alleged she had been raped by soldiers, in a case that has sparked widespread international criticism.
The 25-year-old reporter walked out of the courtroom offering prayers of thank for his release and thanking those who had supported him.
"I'm very happy that I got my freedom back, I thank those who worked in this process that helped my release including my lawyers", he said.
Both Abdinuur and the woman were initially sentenced to a year in prison for "offending state institutions". But all charges were dropped against the woman earlier this month, while Abdinuur's sentence was halved.
His release, following more than two months' incarceration and after an appeals court ruled he must remain in jail, came as a surprise to many.
Amnesty International, HRW and the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a joint statement during the trial that the case was "linked to increasing media attention given to the high levels of rape" including by security forces in the country.
Women and girls in displaced communities in Somalia are often reluctant to report rape to authorities because of fear of reprisals, lack of trust in the authorities, and the limited medical, psychosocial, and legal services available to them, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said.
Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon said he welcomed the decision by the Supreme Court to free the journalist.
"I have publicly stated my concerns about this case in the past few weeks and I have also declared that it was not appropriate for the government to interfere with the judiciary, whose independence is guaranteed under our constitution," the prime minister said.
"We have been determined to let justice take its course and, although it took longer than I would have liked, today we can say that justice has been done," he added.
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Source: aljazeera.
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