Journalists Yusuf Abdi Gabobe and Ali Abdi Dini were arrested on 2 January and transferred to Mandera prison on 3 February. Their trial has apparently been postponed. A third man, Mohamed Omar Sheikh Ibrahim, is still being held incommunicado without charge. His place of detention is now known to be Koodbur police station in Hargeisa. Two other men, writer Ali Dool Ahmed and Bo’aud, one of the former leaders of the Somali National Movement, were arrested in early February for distributing leaflets calling for the release of the three journalists. Bo’aud is believed to be still detained without charge in Hargeisa police custody.
