Djibouti (SD) – A Djiboutian military court has yesterday sentenced Fuad Yusuf Ali, a military pilot, to 10 years in prison and a $ 12,000 fine.
The pilot’s wife, Timiro Jama, said the sentence was illegal and unjust and that she is not allowed to see her husband.
“The verdict was handed down on Monday. Fuad was sentenced inhumanely and unfairly. We were arraigned in a Djiboutian court at 9 am and Fuad was sentenced at 11 pm,” Timiro told the BBC Somali service.
She said the court refused denied them an appeal to the ruling. She added that they have asked the Djiboutian government to hold a peaceful protest.
Fuad fled to Ethiopia on March 27 last year after speaking out about injustice in Djibouti’s military.
The Djiboutian government has issued an arrest warrant for Fuad Yusuf, who was on the run and in Ethiopia at the time.
As he prepared to seek asylum in Ethiopia, the pilot was arrested in Addis Ababa and later deported to Djibouti.
Djibouti’s diaspora held protests in the West, claiming the pilot was at risk of being jailed and tortured if sent back to his country.
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