Somaliland Parliament condemns the detention of a lawmaker

The permanent committee of the Somaliland House of Representatives has refuted today the request from the Attorney General for the removal of immunity from the arrested parliamentarian.

Mr. Mohamed Jama, an MP, speaking on behalf of the committee told the local press that the police and the prosecutors have illegally detained a Member of Parliament, Mr. Mohamed Ahmed Dhakool.

Somaliland police have detained the MP for opposing the commemoration of 18th  May as the National Independence Day, on Thursday evening.

He said that it is unconstitutional to apprehend an MP, with his immunity, unless the parliament removes the immunity from, or MP caught red-handed.

Similarly, the Speaker of House of Representatives Hon. Bashe Mohamed Farah denounced yesterday the arrest of the Mr. Dhakool. He praised the Hargeisa regional court for refusing to hear the case against the lawmaker without the consent of the House.

In a press conference in Hargeisa, Mr. Dhakool claimed that May 18 is not an independence day and its history did not belong to all Somalilanders.