By Goth Mohamed Goth
The Government of Somaliland is considering an executive order to free minor cases and nonviolent prisoners from prisons amid the health threat posed by the novel coronavirus pandemic and has already allocated three months’ food ratios and other essentials for inmates currently held in the various prisons in the country.
On the other hand, the President of the Republic of Somaliland is said to be considering an executive order to release prisoners in the country’s prisons, where individuals are in close proximity to each other due to the fear of Corona-virus spreading in the jails.
Hon. Mustafa Mahmoud Somaliland Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs speaking to the Somali language Horn Cable TV said,” jails and prisons house individuals at higher risk than in other settings, such as schools and restaurants, that have been closed to mitigate contamination. We have already launched an awareness campaign to inform and educate the prisoners on the diseases in terms of hygiene and social distancing, and they must be included in any plan aimed at deterring infections and protecting public safety.
He added that the government of Somaliland had already imposed a countrywide lockdown that curtailed prison visits by relatives, prison warders/staff and others.
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs further said that the President of the Republic of Somaliland is heading government’s ongoing response to the pandemic, which has been identified as a particular threat to prison populations, is considering plans to release inmates so as to ease congestion in police station cells and prison facilities across the nation and we have already provided Hygiene and sanitation equipment to all prison.
