Somali court dismisses anti state charges and free journalist Mohamed Ibrahim Osman Bulbul after two months of incommunicative detension. The decision was announced during the second hearing of the case on Wednesday, 11 October, by Judge Zakariye Abubakar Ahmed of the Banadir Regional Court, according to Somalia based Kaab TV report.

Journalist Bulbul transferred to Mogadishu Prison on Thursday 28 September despite regional court dismissed all the charges. Bulbul was subjected to an unlawful detention and physical abuse on 17 August 2023 due to his fearless reporting on purported corruption involving Somali police officers participating in a training supported by the European Union training mission (EUCAP). These revelations were originally aired by Kaab TV.

Welcoming the decision of the court the Somali Journalists Syndicate Secretary-General, Abdalle Ahmed Mumin said, “We celebrate and welcome today’s decision by the Banadir Regional Court to grant our colleague Mohamed Bulbul’s freedom and announce that his 56 days of detention was unlawful. Bulbul should not have been detained in the first place; however, in order to ensure accountability, we call on the Court to allow our colleague to seek justice and remedy for the violations against his rights, including physical and mental torture, incommunicado detention, deprivation of adequate food and water, and access to family and lawyers, which resulted in the deterioration of his health.”  

“We are now focusing on the health of Mohamed Bulbul as our main priority as he returns to the hospital for further medical treatment, and we hope for his immediate recovery,” added Mumin.