Somalia on Tuesday jailed for one year a woman who said she was raped by security forces and a journalist who interviewed her, saying they were guilty of insulting the state. "We sentence her for offending state institutions by claiming she was raped," judge Ahmed Adan told the court in the capital Mogadishu. "She will spend one year in prison after finishing the breast feeding of her baby." Freelance journalist Abdiaziz Abdinuur, who is already in detention, was to begin serving his sentence immediately. "The court finds that he offended state institutions by making a false interview, and entering the house of a woman whose husband was not present," the judge added. Rights groups have condemned the case as "politically motivated". Three other defendants, including the husband of the alleged victim, and a man and woman who helped introduce her to the journalist, were found not guilty and released. The reporter, who works for several Somali radio stations as well as international media, was detained on January 10 in Mogadishu after researching rampant sexual violence in Somalia. Ahead of the trial the United Nations said it had "raised concerns" at the treatment of those arrested, noting the "prolonged detention" and intial lack of access to legal advice could "could negatively impact" the trial. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists have said in a joint statement that the case is "linked to increasing media attention given to the high levels of rape... including attacks allegedly committed by security forces".
