We are organizing a petition to demand the immediate release of poet Abdirahman Ibrahim Abees who is imprisoned in Somaliland for a poetry reading. By signing this you are expressing your disagreement of the arrest and demanding his release. Every voice counts!!

Background

On Saturday, 12 January 2019, the government of Somaliland arrested poet Abdirahman Abees, a British-Somalilander dual national.

The arrest of the poet is related to a poetry reading performed by the poet on 11th January 2019 in Hargeisa, according to government authorities who spoke to Human Rights Centre (HRC), and family members.

At a poetry reading event convened at Hargeisa, the poet recited poems talking about “police brutality, “arbitrary detentions” and “poor leadership”.

He is now held in the Hargeisa Central Prison awaiting trial. A request of bail has been denied.

For more information contact:

Human Rights Centre Somaliland

Email: hrcsomaliland@gmail.com

Twitter: @hrcsomaliland