Urgent Action Victory! Poet Acquitted and Released (Somaliland: UA 17.19)

NO FURTHER ACTION IS REQUESTED. MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO SENT APPEALS.

Abdirahman Ibrahim Adan alias Abdirahman Abees, a poet in Somaliland, was released on 25 February. This was after the Hargeisa Regional Court acquitted him of the charge of ‘insulting the state’.

He was arrested in Hargeisa on 12 January in connection with a poem he had recited on 11 January at the Mansoor Hotel in Hargeisa. In the poem, he highlighted human rights violations people in Somaliland face including police brutality, arbitrary detention and the degrading treatment of prisoners. The poem also called on the Somaliland government to reform its prisons and the criminal justice system.

His lawyer called to thank Amnesty International for publicly speaking out against Abdirahman’s detention

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• READ THE FULL URGENT ACTION: Word or PDF
• GET INSPIRED: Read about the people you have helped
• READ TIPS for writing effective letters and emails
• CONTACT US: [email protected]