Somaliland:Regional court Orders Poet Abdirahman Abees Released from Custody

Horndiplomat-Hargeisa regional court found poet Abdirahman Abees not guilty and ordered immediate release. The court said he exercised his freedom of expression.

On Saturday, 12 January 2019, the government of Somaliland arrested poet Abdirahman Abees, a British-Somalilander dual national.

#Somaliland:Hargeisa regional court found #poet Abdirahman Abees not guilty and ordered immediate release. The court said he exercised his freedom of expression. He was arrested on 12 January after he held a poetry reading event in Hargeisa. According to @GuleidJ pic.twitter.com/xCO3YzEaPt

— Horndiplomat (@HornDiplomat) February 25, 2019

The arrest of the poet is related to a poetry reading performed by the poet on 11^th January 2019 in Hargeisa, according to government authorities who spoke to Human Rights Centre (HRC), and family members.

At a poetry reading event convened at Hargeisa, the poet recited poems talking about “police brutality, “arbitrary detentions” and “poor leadership”.

This is a developing story, Please check back at the Horndiplomat for Updates.

© Horn Diplomat 2019