US puts Somalia's spy agency on spot in latest State Department report

NAIROBI, Kenya - Abuse of human rights prominently featured in the latest US State Department report as the United States of America poked holes to the misuse of the rule of law by the federal government of Somalia and to some extent, the Al-Shabaab militants.

For years, Somalia has struggled to impress the international community on matters of freedoms and human rights, with journalists, activists, and even innocent civilians being the most affected groups, something which has raised concerns among stakeholders.

But in the report, the National Intelligence Security Agency [NISA], which is in charge of intelligence collection, has been adversely mentioned as one of the institutions behind deplorable human rights records in the Horn of Africa nation.

NISA, the report claimed, was behind politically motivated disappearances, which targeted opposition politicians or those believed to be working with them. The department gave the disappearance of Mohamed Nur "Abuja" as one of the examples of such cases.

"During the year there were some cases of reportedly government-directed, politically motivated disappearances, particularly of journalists but also of political opponents," reads the report in part.

"From February 29-March 2 National Intelligence and Security Agency [NISA] officers detained Radio Higsi journalist Mohamed Abdiwahab Nur “Abuja,” reportedly in retaliation for his investigative journalism regarding the intelligence service’s conduct."

NISA has been for a long time accused of interfering with the country's internal politics by aiding the outgoing government of Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo. A section of opposition supporters has for a long time called for the disbandment of the team.

Working under the stewardship of former Al-Jazeera journalist Fahad Yasin, NISA is blamed for the current political intolerance, but a claim it has repeatedly dismissed as "baseless and unfounded". NISA, State Department argued, has also been detaining suspects without following the due process.

"NISA agents routinely conducted mass security sweeps against al-Shabaab and terrorist cells, as well as against criminal groups. The organization held detainees for prolonged periods without following due process and mistreated suspects during interrogations," notes the statement.

Federal and regional authorities, the report adds, arbitrarily arrested and detained numerous persons, including persons accused of terrorism and either supporting or opposing al-Shabaab. Authorities frequently used allegations of al-Shabaab affiliation to justify arbitrary arrests.

The lack of accountability enabled judges to abuse their power was also noted. Civilian judges, it said, also lacked the necessary security to perform their jobs without fear. Cases involving security personnel or individuals accused of terrorism-related crimes were heard by military courts, read the report.

Political detentions were sighted as some of the worst practices in the Horn of Africa nation, which has struggled with instability for decades. The arrest of Mukhtar Robow, a former Al-Shabaab deputy commander, featured in the report.

"In 2018 South West State presidential election candidate and prominent defector from al-Shabaab leadership Mukhtar Robow was detained by AMISOM soldiers and brought to Mogadishu," notes the report. "He was placed in NISA custody and later moved into house arrest. While Robow reportedly had some contact with the outside world, as of December, he remained under house arrest on unclear legal grounds."

In addition to security and safety concerns, humanitarian organizations faced significant interference from federal and state authorities that attempted to impose taxation and registration requirements and control contracting, procurement, and staffing.

Also, Al-Shabaab imposed harsh punishment on persons in areas under its control. AMISOM alleged that al-Shabaab tortured residents in el-Baraf for offenses ranging from failure to pay taxes to be a government agent.

The Al-Shabaab militants are known also for imposing punishment on civilians and other human rights groups.

GAROWE ONLINE