Hassan Abdinur Abdirahman, a young Somali prosecutor, is in
his early thirties. Abdirahman is a
tall, quiet man, who is one of nine all-male lawyers employed by the office of
the Attorney General in Mogadishu. They are assisted by five staff members.
“I know that the number of prosecutors is too small for a city
of over one million people,” says Abdirahman sheepishly. “We need more
prosecutors.”
Indeed, Mogadishu needs more
police officers, more social workers, and, of course, more prosecutors to stem
its rampant crimes. However, the types of crimes committed in the city are odd
given the city’s reputation as a place where no one would spend a vacation.
“My office prosecutes mostly two
major crimes: rape and property crimes,” asserts Abdirahman. In May alone,
according to Abdirahman, approximately 86 rape cases were prosecuted.
The rise of rape crimes in
Mogadishu has to do with the thousands of Somalis who fled to the city last
year due to severe droughts. The city raised tents in the bushes to house and
feed the refugees. Many international relief agencies came to Mogadishu to help.
According to Abdirahman, many refugee women became vulnerable and defenseless
due to the location of these camps.
“Women have become targets of well-armed men, who prey on them,”
says Abdirahman. Unfortunately, some of these offenders are members of the
Somali army.
The large number of the refugees
in the capital is confounding, maintains Abdirahman. “In reality, there are
many Mogadishu residents who claim to be refugees in order to get help,” says
Abdirahman. “There are some who even own three or four houses who still masquerade
as indigent.” The Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are aware of the
problem but cannot do much about it. To the prosecutors, the camps have become
a fertile ground for men to commit rape against women.
“Recently, we had a sad case that
our office prosecuted,” adds Abdirahman. “A 10-year old girl was gang-raped by
six men.” Many of the offenders commit rape crimes while they are high on Khat,
a mild stimulant drug prevalent in East Africa.
Abdirahman and his office have
noticed a spike in the rate of property crimes. After the radical group, Al-Shabab,
was forced out of the city several months ago, the city experienced relative
peace. Normalcy returned to the city,
and business began to boom. With the relative peace, however, came an influx of
many Somalis in the diaspora returning home and reclaiming their properties.
When the civil war started in Somalia in 1991, thousands of people left their
homes and settled in many parts of the world. Their return, in many instances,
has opened old wounds.
“Some of the dwellers of these
properties do not want to turn them back to their legitimate owners,” states
Abdirahman. They want monies ranging from $20,000 to $30,000. The dwellers
sometimes bring their own ‘documents’ that they claim establish their rightful
ownership of the very properties that they are living in.
“We had a case of one man who
said he owned the house he was living just because he had lost six children
during the civil war,” notes Abdirahman.
The most well-known case involves
Adan Buulle, a member of the Somali parliament, who was killed while reclaiming
his home. Buulle was asked to pay money to get his property back but declined.
Abdirahman explains that land
disputes are the most contentious because they involve politics. Some of the dwellers
call members of the armed forces to defend them or to intervene on their
behalf. Moreover, judges are reluctant to enforce judgments even if the cases
go to trial. “Judges are fearful due to the immense political pressure on
them,” states Abdirahman. One judge survived being shot eight times.
Most often, according to
Abdirahman, people resolve their disputes quietly. Only when conflicting
documents and deeds are presented does the government get involved.
“Falsification” is the main charge, says Abdirahman.
Those who are charged with, or
convicted of, a crime are housed in the Central Prison commonly known as “Kaalshiro.”
This old Italian-built detention center houses about 900 inmates. As of May 27,
according to Abdirahman, 68 prisoners there had not yet been sentenced. Last
year, Hassan Mohamoud “Hassan Jaamici,” a Somali imam, attorney, and part time
law professor in Minneapolis, visited and found the condition of the prison
deplorable.
“Cooking utensils were old and
unhealthy,” said Mohamoud who raised funds for purchasing new cookware.
Mohamoud also met with prison officials, inmates, and the prosecutors like
Abdirahman.
“There are still issues of people
who are in detention without charges ever being brought against them,” said
Mohamoud. “Many do not even get the proper legal representation that they
deserve.”
Technically, a detainee cannot be
detained for more than 24 hours without being charged. There are exceptions. The Mayor of Mogadishu, for instance, can
request a detainee be held indefinitely until his case is further investigated
by the authorities. There are, of course, no legal grounds for such detentions.
In most such cases, the people have been accused of being terrorists or spies
for Al-Shabab.
Abdirahman is grateful that
Mogadishu is becoming more peaceful and stable. “This means more safety for the
city’s residents and less crimes for people like me to prosecute,” he says with
a smile.
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