Somalia court reduces journalist’s sentence

The appeals court in Mogadishu dropped charges against a Somalian woman who was sentenced to one year in prison after alleging she was raped, but the journalist who reported her case will remain in jail with a reduced sentence.

The 27-year old woman was charged with insulting a government body, making false accusations and seeking to profit from the allegations.

Abdiaziz Abdinuur Ibrahim will remain in jail for six months.

“The court orders the release of the woman, while the journalist will spend six months in jail for offending state institutions,” Judge Hassan Mohamed Ali said on Sunday, cutting the reporter’s original sentence in half.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued an immediate response to the verdict.

“The court of appeals missed a chance to right a terrible wrong, both for the journalist and for press freedom in Somalia,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at HRW.

“The government has argued that justice should run its course in this case, but each step has been justice denied.”

Source Al-Jazeera