Hargeisa (SD) – Somaliland security forces arrested Sheikh Mohamed Sheikh Ismail, a well-known sheikh in Somaliland and in many parts of Somalia, according to the sheikh’s daughter.

The sheikh, who runs a well-known medical center in Hargeisa, told Sahan TV on Sunday that an officer with the Somaliland Intelligence Service in the Sanaag region, forcibly expelled him from Erigavo, without reason.

“Sheikh Mohamed Sheikh Ismail, one of Somaliland’s leading clerics, was arrested this morning at his office at 5:00 pm, we have no information about him and we have looked everywhere,” said his daughter.

The Sheikh also told Sahan Tv that the intelligence chief of Sanaag region had told him that he was investigated about a trip he recent made to Badhan to treat patients, with Erigavo Mayor Ismail Haji Nur condemning the act.

Members of the Somaliland House of Representatives reportedly held a closed-door meeting with Somaliland’s Minister of Interior, Mohamed Kahin Ahmed, asking the minister about the recent arrest of Sheikh Mohamed Sheikh Ismail.

Sheikh Mohamed, who was arrested in Hargeisa today according to his daughter, had previously served seven years in prison after being accused of involvement in terrorist activities in Somaliland during the Riyale government and was later pardoned by the president.