Custody,” Adel A. F. Jome
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Hargeisa, July 10, 2004 (SL Times) – Adnan Abdi Farah Jome died
during the late hours of June 11, 2004 while in custody at Berbera
central prison. Initial medical reports cited a heart attack as the
cause of his death. But there is new information that Adnan
complained during the last 3 days before his death of a severe
cardiac problem. He was kept in a small cell with at least another
twenty inmates in the Berbera prison.
According to inmates, the prison wards refused to allow Adnan seek
medical help for his condition. “He kept saying I need some air but
the place was too hot,” said one inmate.
Temperatures reach as high as 49 degrees centigrade in Berbera during
the month of June.
Adel Abdi Farah Jome, the elder brother of the deceased is very much
upset with how the authorities handled the case.
“Can you imagine that no one has been held accountable for my
brother’s death while in prison custody,” Adnan said.
Adel is blaming inhuman prison conditions and extra-legal practices
by law enforcement agencies as the cause of his brother’s death.
“Adnan’s human rights have been violated and our family members will
not rest until the authorities held somebody accountable for my
brother’s imprisonment in the first place as well as the
ill-treatment he received while in custody,” the beveared brother
vowed.
Adnan was arrested by Berbera police in early June and then sent to
jail. It was not known why he was detained as no charges were brought
against him.
Adel criticized the government for encouraging lawlessness by
subjecting citizens to rules dating back to previous repressive
governments.
Two other men arrested with Adnan have now been transferred from
Berbera to Hargeisa Central Prison. They haven’t been charged yet.
Adel suspects that they might have been tried by an arbitrary
Security Court. “The government should dismantle the Security
Commissions System that summarily tries people in breach of the
constitution,” Adel Abdi Farah Jome added.
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