Sadia Moalim Ali, a 27-year-old nursing graduate and rickshaw driver, has given an exclusive interview from Mogadishu Central Prison to The Guardian, detailing brutal torture by guards. She was arrested on April 12 for participating in peaceful anti-government protests.
Ali used Facebook and TikTok to criticize the federal government, speaking out against alleged corruption, nepotism, forced evictions, youth unemployment, and high fuel prices. On April 14, she was transferred to the central prison, where she remains without formal charges, denied access to a lawyer.
According to Ali, two male guards stripped her naked in a CCTV-monitored room, kicked her, beat her with a baton, and left her for two days in a small cell without food. “I was tortured,” she said. “I was forced to lie face down, water was poured on me, I was kicked by guards with boots, and beaten with a baton.”
Torture is prohibited under international law and the UN Convention Against Torture. Amnesty International reports police have court permission to detain her for 90 days pending investigation. Ali claims torture followed her interview with Shabelle Media: “Before when I spoke to the media, I was punished the same day.”
The cell where she was held, known as “cellula della morte” (cell of death), dates from Italian colonial rule. It measures about two square meters, is extremely hot, and covered in filth. Ali now shares a cell with 38 other women, suffering from insomnia, kidney problems, and numbness in her limbs.
Dalmar Dhayow of the Coalition of Somali Human Rights Defenders said women in prison routinely face sexual assault and shackling. Human rights groups, former officials, and a Somali MP have called Ali’s detention unlawful and demanded her immediate release.
Opposition leader Abdirahman Abdishakur posted: “Her only ‘offence’ was speaking out against corruption and nepotism. That is not a crime; it is a fundamental civic right.” Since 2022, Somali authorities have been accused of a systematic crackdown on dissent, including arbitrary arrests and harassment.
Source: www.theguardian.com