A military court in Galkayo on yesterday sentenced 19 youths found guilty of being members of al-Shabaab to five to ten years in prison.
Security forces had arrested the suspects in operations conducted inside the city, and later released 15 others after they were acquitted.
“We processed 40 defendants within 10 days who were accused of [being part of] al-Shabaab and engaging in destabilising actions within the public,” said Ahmed Abdi Botan, head of the Puntland military court. “We freed the acquitted ones after a tough investigation that cleared them of the crimes for which they were accused.”
The military court also handed down six-month sentences to six former members of the armed forces found guilty of destabilising actions within Puntland.
Botan told Sabahi that the military court would bring to justice any security officers who commit crimes instead of defending the public
source: sabahionline