Outrage as woman jailed for three years after criticising Somali government online

A rickshaw driver in Somalia has been sentenced to three years in prison for comments she made on social media, in a case that has caught the public’s attention and provoked outrage in the country. Sadia Moalim Ali, a 27-year-old nursing graduate, was originally charged with insulting government institutions and incitement to commit a crime, but convicted only of the former. Her sentence, immediately condemned as “fundamentally unjust”, was handed down on 25 June. She had made critical comments on Facebook and TikTok about the federal government of Somalia, speaking out about the youth unemployment and high fuel prices gripping the country, as well as against alleged corruption, nepotism and forced evictions. The sentencing of the young mother has been condemned by former high-ranking government officials, including the former president of Somalia , Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and human rights organisations. Hassan Ali Khaire, former prime minister of Somalia, wrote on X : “The three-year prison sentence handed down today … is deeply troubling and fundamentally unjust. …