Amnesty International urges release of detained activist Sadia Bajaj

Tuesday April 28, 2026

Sa’dia Moalim Ali, a Somali tuktuk driver at the centre of a political storm after her arrest during protests opposing evictions in Mogadishu.

Mogadishu (AX) — Amnesty International is demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Sadia Moalim Ali, a 27-year-old tuk-tuk driver and social activist who has been held in Mogadishu since earlier this month without formal charges.

Ali, widely known as “Sadia Bajaj,” was taken into custody on April 12 in Hodan district by officers from the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA). She was first kept at Hamar Jajab Police Station for two days and then moved on April 14 to Mogadishu Central Prison, where she remains detained.

According to Amnesty International, Ali has not been allowed to meet a lawyer, and her family says it has not been told of any official case against her. The organization said credible sources indicated that authorities secured an order from the Banadir Regional Court allowing her detention for as long as 90 days while investigations continue.

Rights groups say the arrest stems from Ali’s online activism and her participation in peaceful demonstrations in which she criticized the federal government over alleged corruption, youth unemployment, nepotism, high taxation, and climbing fuel prices. In one video, Ali said any harm that comes to her should be blamed on the country’s leadership.

Amnesty International called the detention arbitrary, arguing that Ali is being punished solely for exercising her right to free expression. The group urged Somali authorities to release her at once or, if she remains in custody, to ensure conditions that meet international human rights standards, including access to legal counsel, family visits, and proper medical care.

This is not the first time Ali has been detained. She was arrested on March 12 after joining protests over higher fuel prices and was freed four days later after appearing in court, a sequence activists say is part of a broader pattern of targeting people for peaceful dissent.

“I urge you and your government to immediately and unconditionally release Sadia Moalim Ali, as she is detained solely for the peaceful exercise of her human rights. Pending her release, I urge you and your government to ensure she is held in conditions that adhere to international human rights standards, protected from torture and other ill-treatment, and has immediate and regular access to her family, lawyers, and adequate health care,” A letter from Amnesty sent to President Mohamud reads.

Ali’s case comes against the backdrop of what rights groups describe as a wider clampdown on free expression in Somalia. Since mid-to-late 2022, authorities have been accused of arbitrary arrests, harassment, and intimidation aimed at journalists, activists, and government critics.

In March, the Minister of Information issued a directive barring the publication of content considered a threat to national security or what officials described as misinformation, a move that alarmed media watchdogs and raised fresh fears of censorship.

Amnesty International said Ali’s continued detention underscores a growing pattern of repression and called on the Somali government to honor its obligations under international human rights law, including safeguarding the freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.