Somali poetess Qorane released from jail
Monday May 07 2018
Somali poetess Naima Ahmed Ibrahim Qorane. ABDULKADIR KHALIF | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Somali poetess Naima Ahmed Ibrahim Qorane was Monday released from prison in Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway republic of Somaliland.
Qorane was arrested in January and charged with treason against Somaliland for her composition advocating the unity of Somalia.
She was sentenced to three years in prison.
Was arrested
Qorane's poems were found offending to Somaliland, her homeland, which declared independence from Somalia.
The poetess was arrested and detained at the Hargeisa airport upon returning from Mogadishu to visit her family.
Human rights advocates in Somaliland had condemned the sentencing of the poetess.
The groups expressed joy upon her release.
Freedom of speech
The director of Somaliland Human Rights Centre, Mr Guled Ahmed Jama, said: “I am glad that poet Naema Ahmed Ibrahim has been released on a presidential pardon.”
He added: “She should not have been arrested in the first place as the freedom of speech is protected by the constitution and international human rights law.”
The relatively stable Somaliland has failed to win international recognition since it declared independence from the rest of Somalia.