European Union workers forcibly ejected from Somalia amidst bewildering circumstances!

In a stunning turn of events, two European Union [EU] workers have been forcefully expelled from Somalia with immediate effect! According to reports, the federal government of Somalia expelled the two EU workers for allegedly taking photos of prisoners in a detention center without obtaining “consent” from authorities, a move that has the potential to trigger serious diplomatic fallout. The ministry of foreign affairs confirmed this decision following a request by Attorney General Sulayman Mohamed Mohamud, who demanded that the two be deported from the Horn of Africa nation for “violation of rules and regulations” governing the country. The two hapless individuals are Jacek Jozef Ochman of Poland and Ralf Bernhard Gehlig of Germany, and the government insists that they were “meddling in the internal affairs of the country” against established rules. Shockingly, sources say that the expulsion of the two is related to the detention of Iranian boats and 36 fishermen linked to illegal fishing in Somali waters. Apparently, the fishermen who were apprehended are of Iranian origin and were caught at a time when Somalia is fighting against rampant illegal fishing. According to VOA Somali, the attorney general’s letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs explains that Ochman and Gehlig paid a visit to the prisoners on April 30 at a detention center belonging to the Somali maritime police located at Mogadishu’s airport, in which they “secretly” took pictures of them without consent. This, according to the letter, constitutes a crime as such behavior tarnishes the reputation and dignity of the nation. Moreover, it was clarified that the decision to expel them was taken after it was established that photo-taking violates the Somali penal code. It said Ochman led the EU team that visited the installation and ordered the pictures, and that Gehlig took them. Despite the fact that the two could not be criminally prosecuted due to diplomatic immunity, Somalia still decided to call for their removal from the country. It is worthwhile to note that the Ministry of Maritime Resources recently claimed a number of foreign vessels had been detected in Somalia’s EPZ zone, leading to a serious crackdown against illegal fishing. As illegal fishing constitutes a “significant threat” to Somalia’s fishing stock, food security, and marine ecology, the ministry has urged all foreign vessels fishing illegally to depart Somalia’s waters. However, failure to comply will lead to stern action being taken against those found in violation of the country’s laws.