Woman jailed in Somalia for peaceful protest ‘stripped, kicked and beaten’

It was because of that interview that she was tortured, she said. “Before when I spoke to the media, I was punished the same day … Truly a lot of pain was inflicted on me.”

The room she was kept in is known as cellula della morte – cell of death – named so because the prison was built during Italian rule, which ended in 1941. Former prisoners who have spent time in it say it is reserved to punish people and for those facing execution. The floor is said to be doused in engine oil and salt, and covered in faeces. It measures about two square metres and is extremely hot. The stench is overwhelming and has caused people to vomit.

Ali, the main breadwinner for her extended family including her 11-month-old daughter, now shares another cell with 38 other women.

“It is a very difficult life,” she said. “No human being deserves to be put in here. It is a place with no ventilation. Even a healthy person gets sick. It is very noisy and very crowded.”

She said she struggled to sleep and had kidney problems as well as numbness in her hand and foot, and just wanted to go home to her family, saying she would end her activism.

Human rights organisations have said Ali’s detention is unlawful and are calling for her immediate release. Photograph: Handout

“I have endured severe violations and I deeply plead for justice, for my rights and my freedom to be restored by those responsible.”

Dalmar Dhayow, of the Coalition of Somali Human Rights Defenders, said women imprisoned in the country routinely faced a litany of human rights violations.

“We know sexual assault or violence is systematically used as a tool to force women [to make false confessions], humiliate and harass them inside prison,” said Dhayow. “We know a lot of cases of women being shackled while they are detained, with their legs and hands bound.”

Human rights organisations, former government officials and a Somali MP have said Ali’s detention is unlawful and are calling for her immediate release. Abdirahman Abdishakur, the leader of an opposition party, posted on X that Ali’s detention was “a national disgrace and a damning indictment of President Hassan Sheikh’s administration”.

“Her only ‘offence’ was speaking out against corruption and nepotism within government institutions,” he wrote. “That is not a crime; it is a fundamental civic right. Mr President, failing to tolerate the voice of a single young woman is not a sign of strength, it is a clear display of insecurity.”

Since 2022, Somali authorities have been accused of engaging in a systematic and escalating crackdown on human rights, using arbitrary arrests, detention, harassment, threats and intimidation to silence journalists, activists and other people who express dissenting views.

The Somali government was approached for comment but did not respond.