This is the second time this year an alleged rape victim and a journalist, who reported on the crime, have been imprisoned in Somalia.
Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP / Getty Images
A 19-year-old journalist, who spoke out about being raped last month, was sentenced to jail for six months for defamation and lying by a court in Somalia. The journalists who reported her story were also found guilty of defamation and offending state institutions and were sentenced to a year and six months respectively.
In November, the alleged victim told the independent Radio Shabelle that two of her fellow journalists from the state-owned Radio Mogadishu attacked and raped her at gunpoint.
In the video interview broadcast on Radio Shabelle's website, the 19-year-old said:
"One of the men threatened me with a pistol, and took me to the bedroom by force...both of them raped me several times, destroying my pride and dignity. I am appealing to the government to take legal action against the rapists, they might have done the same to other poor girls."
After the interview, police arrested the woman along with the male reporter who interviewed her, and the owner of Radio Shabelle. The men were detained in a prison in Mogadishu, the country's capital.
The two Radio Mogadishu journalists who were accused of the rape were arrested but released within hours by authorities.
People await the verdict for the two journalists and the alleged victim in a Somali court.
The woman will be confined to home, serving a suspended six-month jail sentence. The reporter, Mohamed Bashir, was sentenced to six months in prison, and the radio station's manager, Abdiimalik Yusuf, will serve a year in prison. The two men have the option of paying fines to leave the jail; $365 for Yusuf, and $180 for Bashir.
Somalia's government has insisted that it protects freedom of press in the country. A government spokesman said:
"Journalists perform a critical role and we want them to be able to work without fear or favor. A free press is at the heart of every democracy and is guaranteed under our new constitution."
