A Swiss national finds al-Shabaab protection after his son raped defenseless girls in Somalia
MOGADISHU (HORNOB SERVANT) – A Swiss citizen Abdikarin Ahmedsalan Abdi, who lives in Graubünden, has succeeded in gaining protection of the terrorist group in Somalia after paying the group to threaten two defenseless families in Mogadishu, whose underage girls were raped by Abdis . adult son Mohamed Abdikarin Ahmedsalan.
According to the families of the victims, the two girls, aged 10 and 11, were living with their grandmother in the Wardhigley district of Mogadishu when Ahmedsalan raped them.
“He used to rape the girls repeatedly for two years now. He used to threaten and intimidate the girls. He used to live in the same villa, and when the grandmother left home, he used to get his knife and threatened to hit the young girls. to death. ”said Mama Asho, one of the mothers of the victims.
Asho has never left Mogadishu, but one morning in December, she received a call from an al-Shabaab official informing her to arrive at the militant court in Lower Shabelle.
“I did not know how they got my contact. I was very scared because I am civil. I do not know why they [al-Shabaab] wanted me in their court, ”Asho said when she later realized that it was Abdi, the Somali-Swiss citizen, who had given her contact to al-Shabaab militants.
Al-Shabaab has now turned into a criminal blackmail group that extorts money from companies and officials and even offers services to criminals in need of contract killings, according to a Juneid Ayanle who heads a local non-profit rights group Somali Progressive Council.
“Many survivors and victims of rape – especially those from the minority – do not have access to government courts. To make matters worse, the rapists hire al-Shabaab militants to threaten their victims. That way, justice dies,” he said. Mr. Ayanle
Last week, Mama Asho, who is the mother of one of the victims, filed a lawsuit with the public prosecutor to seek justice for the girls. According to the document seen by Horn Observer.
“We are waiting for justice. It is very painful when your young daughter is raped and the rapist gets protection from the armed militants with the financial support of his father who lives in Switzerland,” said Abdirahman Omar, father of one of of militants. sacrifice.
Investigations, prosecutions and convictions for rape and other forms of sexual violence are rare in Somalia, so survivors have little incentive to lodge complaints with the police. Some women have been subjected to further abuse and stigma if they report the crime.
According to the UN report, most cases of rape take place in the deportation camps, where at least 70 percent of these are carried out by armed men wearing government uniforms. Nearly a third of the survivors are reported to be under 18 years of age.
