The Maroodi-Jeex Regional Court in Somaliland has sentenced philanthropist Abdimaalik Muse Coldoon to six months in prison and a fine of 3 million Somaliland shillings.
The charges against Coldoon on which the court based its verdict were not disclosed to the media. It is also reported that he refused to hire a lawyer to assist him in the court proceedings, preferring to defend himself.
Coldoon was arrested on April 4 in the city of Berbera, after returning from a trip to eastern Somaliland. He said at the time that he was wanted for arrest, so he fled. However, his family convinced him to return and not be arrested, but he was arrested anyway.
Coldoon is believed to have been arrested for comments he made about an Al Jazeera report that Somaliland had agreed to host part of the Gaza population that the US and Israel want to displace from their land, a claim Somaliland has denied.
“I am from Somalia, and the minister does not represent us. He represents a mercenary government. The Palestinians are our brothers, and the people of Gaza will remain patient and steadfast in their land,” Coldoon said in comments that are suspected of being government-sanctioned.
Coldoon has previously been arrested on charges related to defamation and spreading false information allegedly committed against the Abaarso School and the Hargeisa Cultural Center. He has been convicted and acquitted on those charges.
The conflict between Coldoon and the Somaliland government began in 2017, when he expressed support for the elected Somali president, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, while he was a journalist at the time.
