A PERSECUTED Somali journalist who recently visited Jersey for a respite holiday is allegedly facing “legal intimidation” from a UK-based law firm acting on behalf of a major African bank.
The UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition has expressed its “deep concern” over the targeting of human rights defender and journalist Abdalle Mumin after he posted on social media about Premier Bank.
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The coalition, which stands in solidarity with those facing abusive lawsuits, said that the legal correspondence issued to Mr Mumin “bears the hallmarks” of a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP).
According to the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition, a SLAPP is defined as “an abusive lawsuit filed by a private party with the purpose of silencing critical speech”.
The group said that Mr Mumin, who the secretary general of the Somali Journalists Syndicate, was targeted after the trade union was subject to an investigation by the Somali government.
This resulted in the freezing of the Somali Journalists Syndicate’s accounts with Premier Bank. In response, Mr Mumin published four social media posts expressing his concerns about the bank’s business practices.
The UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition said that, following the publication of these posts, Mr Mumin received abusive messages and phone calls, and a legal letter threatening him with a defamation action in England.
The coalition raised concerns about the “obvious imbalance of wealth and power” between the persecuted refugee and the major bank, and said the legal correspondence “appears to be intended to intimidate”.
The group added: “We are further troubled by the surrounding context, including Mumin’s history of persecution by Somali state authorities, media reports of connections between Premier Bank and the Somali government, and communications he appears to have received from both a Somali minister and a representative of the bank.
“Taken together, these raise serious questions about the motivation and purpose behind this legal action.”
Taylor Hampton Solicitors LLP, acting on behalf of Premier Bank, said that they “reject any suggestion” that their letter to Mr Mumin constitutes a SLAPP.
The firm stated that the correspondence was a legitimate and proportionate step taken in response to “highly defamatory” allegations of the “utmost seriousness” published by the Somali journalist
Mr Mumin grew up in a displacement camp on Africa’s east coast where his brother was shot dead, his mother died during childbirth, and he lost his right arm.
After becoming a human rights journalist, Mr Mumin was imprisoned for speaking out against the Somali government. In 2023, he fled to the UK where he now lives and works.
Mr Mumin visited Jersey in March as a guest of the Prisoners of Conscience Holiday Fund, a charity which provides restorative holidays in Jersey for human rights advocates who have successfully claimed asylum in the UK.
During his time in the Island, Mr Mumin was the subject of a Saturday interview in this newspaper.
Islanders also raised over £6,000 to support a fundraising effort to pay for the journalist’s family to join him in the UK.
