Thursday September 23, 2021
Mogadishu (HOL) - A Somali military court in Mogadishu sentenced two foreigners on Thursday to 15 years in prison for being members of Al-Shabaab./
The pair have been identified in court documents as 44-year-old British national Dereton Antonio Perez and Ahmed Mustaqim bin Abdihamid, 34, a Malaysian.
According to the indictment, the British and Malaysian nationals entered Somalia from Kenya in 2009.
The two men were initially arrested on suspicion of being international spies, but an investigation revealed they were members of the militant insurgency group al-Shabaab.
The military court found that they fought alongside the group in southern and central Somalia.
The court proceedings last just under a week.
A press attaché at Somalia's embassy in Malaysia assured officials ahead of the verdict there that the Malaysian man would receive a fair trial in accordance with Somalia's legal system.
The defendants have 30 days to appeal.