Friday, December 13, 2013
Abdimalik Yusuf (L), head of Shabelle radio and Mohamed Bashir a journalist stand chained near court in Mogadishu on December 9, 2013 (AFP/File, Mohamed Abdiwahab)
Nairobi — The United States' top diplomat for Africa on Friday condemned as "abhorrent" a Somali court decision to sentence an alleged rape victim along with two journalists who reported her story.
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Washington would nevertheless continue to support Somalia's internationally-backed government, describing it as far from perfect but still the "best alternative" for the country.
The alleged rape victim, a 19-year-old journalist, last month told independent Radio Shabelle she was attacked at gunpoint by two fellow reporters.
On Monday a court handed her a six-month suspended jail sentence for defamation and lying, during which time she will be confined to her home.
"I have the same reaction that everyone has. It is something that we all find abhorrent. Rape victims should not be charged with their own rapes. They can't become a victim twice. This woman was made a victim twice," Thomas-Greenfield told reporters in Nairobi.
Two journalists who reported her story -- and not the alleged attackers -- were also sentenced to one year and six months respectively or allowed to pay a fine instead. Neither of the men accused of the rape were arrested.
"It is terribly frustrating, it is something that none of us support," Thomas-Greenfield said, promising to raise the issue directly with Somalia's authorities.
"At the same time we want to make sure that as we continue to work with this government and mistakes like that are made, we help them move in the right direction. If we turn our backs on Somalia we will see Somalia go backwards," she added.
Thomas-Greenfield said Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud "offers the best alternative that Somalia has had for a very long time".
Rape, and reporting on sexual assault, is one of the most sensitive topics in the deeply conservative Muslim Horn of Africa nation, and it is the second time this year a Somali court has jailed a woman for speaking out about rape and journalists for interviewing her.
In August, a Somali woman who said she was gang-raped by African Union soldiers was also held by police for questioning.