A court in Somalia’s breakaway northern territory of Somaliland has sentenced a journalist to two years in prison months after he was acquitted by another in Hargeisa town over falsehood charges.
According to Somaliland appeal court, Abdimalik Muse Oldoon was sentenced to 2 years in prison and three million Somaliland shillings.
Oldon was initially charged with engaging in anti-national activities, spreading “false” news and disturbing public order.
He was arrested last August in Burao on charges of spreading lies about Abaarso School and Barwaqo University.
In a Facebook post, Oldon accused the two learning institutions of propagating Christianity in Somaliland, a move that angered the board of the institutions and the parents of the children.
Last February, Marodijeeh Regional Court based in Hargeisa town had declared Oldon a free man and dropped the allegations. But hours later after Oldon was freed, the prosecutors appealed against the court’s ruling.
Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991. No country so far has recognized it as independent.
