Ref: BPRC0028/16                                                                                                            Date: 24/02/2016

PRESS STATEMENT!

Illegal detention of BPRC Deputy chairman

The Banadiri political reformation council (BPRC) is outraged by arbitrary arrest of its deputy chairman Omar Sharif Jeeg, who spent the second night in jail after attending a peaceful demonstration in Hamarweyne district.

Mr. Omar Shariif Jeeg was arrested right after attending a peaceful demonstration, which the BPRC organized in order the Banadiri community express its concerns related to the political marginalization subjected to it in terms of the power-sharing of the upper house and the participation of the High Level partnership conference in Istanbul Turkey.

The deputy chairman was arrested by the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) branch commander of Hamarweyne District, who claimed to be ordered by the NISA commander of Mogadishu.

"This is awful and very arbitrary arrest subjected to us in order to force us to keep silent and not to express our concerns about our future as community, it is unacceptable act, we condemn it, we are very outraged by the act of the NISA and who ever ordered it and we request the Somalia government and the international community to intervene” said the BPRC chairman Dr. Lutfi Mohamed Omar, who is also on the run after NISA ordered his arrest.

"We are a peaceful community, we just expressed our concern through peaceful demonstration, we want to have the right to express our expression, we are marginalized and now oppressed not to express our concerns” Omar added.

"I didn’t sleep my house, NISA is looking for me and I don’t know why they want arrest me, but I call on the NISA and the ministry for the internal security to stop harassing us because we are unarmed community, we just want to apply our freedom of expression through peaceful and polite manner” He continued.

The arrest of Omar Sharif Jeeg, the outspoken deputy chairman of NISA and the chasing of BPRC chairman started moments after a peaceful demonstration started in Hamarweyne, which hundreds of Banadiri community members chanted against the exclusive power-sharing of the Upper House and the HLPF in Istanbul.

The Banadiri community’s political leadership, BPRC, requests the Somalia government, to intervene the matter and stop its security forces, from carrying out the crackdown against the Banadiri community’s political leaders, who are advocating for the rights of the community through peaceful and polite advocacy.

We request the NISA to free Omar Sharif Jeeg without condition and explain why he was arrested and who ordered the arrest.

We request the international donor community, specially the UN, UK, US, EU, as well as the regional bodies of IGAD, LAS, AU and the governments of Sweden, Italy, Denmark, Norway and Germany, to pressure the Somalia government to release Omar Sharif Jeeg and stop harassing political leaders of the Banadiri community.

Our right to political movement and freedom of expression is a constitutional right, which we want to apply peacefully.

Press Office

Banadiri Political Reformation Council