Hargeisa (SD) – The Marodi-Jeh Regional Court has dropped one of several charges filed by the Prosecution against the owner of Astan TV, Abdimanan Yusuf, who has been detained in Hargeisa for more than a month.

The chairman of the Somaliland Journalists Association (SOLJA), Mohamud Abdi Jama, confirmed to local media on Thursday morning that the regional court had dropped the first case against Abdimanan Yusuf, who was accused of spying against Somaliland, which on the first day of the hearing, the lawyers representing the media house owner said that the article needed to be accompanied by evidence, which the prosecution argued was not evidence.

The prosecution and the lawyers argued the spy case leading the judge to drop the first point of the charge against Astan Tv owner.

The prosecution is said to have appealed the court’s decision to drop the first charge.

The prosecution has charged Abdimanan Yusuf with two counts of espionage and one related to the license and ownership of Astan TV in Hargeisa.