A court in Hargeisa, the capital of the northern Somali self-declared state of Somaliland has sentenced Abdimanan Yusuf, the CEO of Astaan cable TV to five years in prison.
The court also ordered the end of the cable TV service provider in Somaliland territories.
Abdimanan who was in custody in Hargeisa prison in the past five months was also fined to pay two Million Somaliland shilling which is USD 250.
Rights groups in the self-declared state and across the federal republic of Somalia have strongly condemned the move by Hargeisa authorities.
Somaliland Journalists Association (SOLJA) said in a statement that restricting and censoring media channels is against freedom and called for the immediate release of the entrepreneur.
“We are against targeting and restricting independent media channels in Somalia, free Abdimanaan and resume Astaan TV.” Said, Yahye Hanas, the director of Solja.
On their part, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) said the case was politicized and the trial was not fair.
“This is a deliberately politicized case that was designed from the beginning to victimize Abdimanan Yusuf over a fabricated accusation to reach to ultimate the goal of silencing Astaan TV” said Osman, adding “Abdimanan Yusuf is innocent and today’s ruling is a travesty of justice”.
