Tuesday May 26, 2026 Dabbasa Dambi and Gurracha Dambala Addis Abeba – Two Borana elders from Kenya’s Marsabit County, held for nearly two weeks on suspicion of ties to the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), have been freed after a court accepted a property bail totaling 14 million Kenyan shillings, or about 17.3 million Ethiopian Birr, their defense lawyer told Addis Standard. The men — Dabbasa Dambi, a former administrator of Gololle village, and Gurracha Dambala, a respected elder from Sololo — walked out of custody yesterday…

Tuesday May 26, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s attorney general said Monday that detained bajaj driver and activist Sadia Moallim Ali Hassan will soon appear in court, declaring that her case has now moved into the final phase of investigation and prosecution. Attorney General Suleyman Mohamed Mahmoud said the proceedings have followed legal procedures and dismissed criticism of the justice system as misinformation. He said Ali was taken into custody on April 21 and presented before a court within 48 hours, in line with…

Friday May 15, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s National Independent Human Rights Commission has raised alarm over the prolonged detention of Sadio Moallim Ali, saying she has spent more than a month in Mogadishu Central Prison without being tried. In a May 13 statement, the commission said it had visited the facility on April 29 to examine Ali’s detention conditions and review her legal and humanitarian circumstances. The commission said its delegation met with Correctional Service officials, prison administrators, Ali and…

Sarah JohnsonSunday May 10, 2026 The journalists said they were arrested and assaulted by counter-terrorism police in Mogadishu on Friday. Photograph: Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images A Somali journalist who reported on a woman’s claim that she was being tortured in prison was detained by authorities and beaten with pistols, along with two other reporters, in what media groups say is the latest sign of an escalating crackdown on press freedom. Mohamed Bulbul was arrested on Friday evening in a restaurant in central Mogadishu…

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…

Fears are mounting for a 30-year-old man held in Iran after his family said the case against him could end in execution, despite what they describe as glaring contradictions in the allegations. Peyvand Naimi has remained in custody since early January, when he was arrested during anti-government protests. In an interview with RTÉ's News at One, his Dublin-based cousin, Sama Sabet, said he has endured torture, mock executions and sustained pressure to admit to crimes he denies. "On 8 January 2026...he was arrested by the…

CPJ urges North Western State of Somalia to free journalist detained without charge since Feb. 22 Monday March 9, 2026 HARGEISA, North Western State of Somalia (AX) — The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday called for the immediate release of Ahmed-Zaki Ibrahim Mohamud, a Hargeisa-based reporter and founder of the online outlet Warrame Media, who has been held without formal charges since February 22 in North Western State of Somalia. CPJ said unidentified individuals raided Warrame Media’s offices in Hargeisa on the…

Somalia repatriates 12 citizens held for years in Sudan over irregular migration MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s federal government on Friday welcomed home 12 citizens who were detained for years in Sudan after attempting irregular migration, concluding a coordinated repatriation supported by the International Organization for Migration. The group landed at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu following negotiations that secured their release from detention centers in Khartoum and Omdurman, according to the Ministry…

Former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai Detained by EFCC Amid Fraud Allegations The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has detained former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of fraud during his time in office from 2015 to 2023. El-Rufai honored an invitation from the EFCC on Monday, which led to his questioning and subsequent detention. This development follows El-Rufai's recent return to Nigeria from Cairo, where reports indicate that security operatives…

HAMBURG, Germany — Two shipyard workers have been arrested on suspicion of sabotaging several German warships in Hamburg harbor, authorities said, in a case that investigators warn could have caused significant damage had it gone unnoticed. The men — a 37-year-old Romanian and a 54-year-old Greek — allegedly tampered with multiple vessels by pouring more than 20 kilograms of steel pellets into an engine block, puncturing freshwater lines, removing fuel tank caps and disabling fuses in onboard electronics, according to the…