Puntland Releases Nine Suspects, Sentences Al Shabaab Fighter

Posted to the web 18 July 2008 A court in Somalia's Puntland regional autonomy has dismissed 9 men held in suspicion of terror activities, while sentencing an alleged insurgent to a 12-year prison term. The Bari Regional Court, in the northern port of Bossaso, listened to the Puntland government's case against the nine men, who were arrested last week in Galkayo town. According to police sources, the men entered Galkayo from the southern regions and were arrested as suspects following a series of deadly bomb blasts in the town since mid-June. The Regional Court judges dismissed the government's case, which lacked any evidence, and ordered Puntland police to release the suspects. Critics accused Puntland authorities of arbitrarily arresting young men, who left Mogadishu and were traveling by land to the Somaliland regions. But... [read full story]