Society

Urgent Plea to Save Six Moroccans Sentenced to Death in Somalia

Friday 29 March 2024 - 09:47

Six Moroccan nationals find themselves in dire straits, facing imminent execution in a Somali prison after being convicted of terrorism charges by a military tribunal in late February. Their fate now hangs precariously as local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rally urgently for Rabat's intervention.

With a scant 30-day window for appeal, Moroccan civil society groups have raised a clamor, imploring their government to swiftly act to repatriate its citizens. A joint statement condemning the court's verdict emerged from the Moroccan Coalition Against the Death Penalty, the Association for Justice for a Fair Trial, the Lawyers Network Against the Death Penalty, and three other organizations.

The six men were part of a group of nine defendants sentenced on February 29th by a court in Bossaso, a northern Somali city. According to Col. Ali Ibrahim Osman, the deputy chairman of the tribunal, the foreign militants were accused of receiving training with the Islamic State (IS) at their base in the Cal-Miskaat Mountains, a notorious extremist stronghold. "They came to Somalia to support ISIS and to spill blood," Osman declared to VOA Somali.

While an Ethiopian and a Somali national received 10-year jail terms, the Moroccan contingent comprising Mohamed Hassan, Ahmed Najwi, Khalid Latha, Mohamed Binu Mohamed Ahmed, Ridwan Abdulkadir Osmany, and Ahmed Hussein Ibrahim faced the death penalty for their alleged two-year affiliation with the militant group.

However, the Moroccan NGOs have shed light on a glimmer of hope, some defendants claim they were mere economic migrants, unaware of the sinister intentions of their recruiters. Their legal counsel has affirmed their desire to return to the Kingdom, asserting they had been misled by the extremist faction.

In a resounding denunciation of the death penalty, even for severe crimes, these organizations underscore the sanctity of human life and the importance of due process. Their urgent plea to Rabat aims to secure the repatriation of the men before the sands of time run out.

This unprecedented case marks the first instance where Puntland, a semi-autonomous Somali region, has prosecuted foreigners for alleged ties to IS. The Somali branch of the militant group, formed in 2015 by al-Shabab defectors, is notorious for extortion and sporadic attacks, according to US intelligence assessments.

As Somalia continues its stringent approach, with at least 55 executions carried out last year alone, international condemnation has swelled. Human rights watchdogs, including The Coalition of Somali Human Rights Defenders, have decried the nation's liberal use of capital punishment in terrorism cases.

With time slipping away, the fervent appeal of Moroccan NGOs underscores the delicate balance between counter-terrorism efforts and upholding the fundamental right to life, a tightrope walk that now holds the fate of six men in the balance.