Military court sentences Al Shabaab impersonators extorting money from Businesses’

Mohamed Ali Abdi Ishaq and Ahmed Yasin Haji Gabow have been sentenced by a Somali military court to life in prison on charges of extorting money by impersonating al-Shabaab and kidnapping several people for ransom.

Mohamed Ali Abdi Ishaq and Ahmed Yasin Haji Gabow used a burner sim-card and threatened Somali business owners to pay al-Shabaab bribes.

The Prosecutor’s Office, after a lengthy investigation, requested that the case be rescheduled for late August this year, and the Court accepted the first hearing at the same time.

The Office of the Prosecutor has called for punishment for the crimes committed by Mohamed Ali Abdi Ishaq and Ahmed Yasin Haji Gabow to be given stern sentences as they have created a new dangerous way to extort businesses, through anonymous threatening calls in Mogadishu, that needs to be eradicated.

During their operations, they made several kidnappings of Somali woman, taking between $ 1,000 and $ 2,000 in ransom money.

Prosecutors also say that they used to collect money in the name of al-Shabaab, which they were able to obtain several times, forcing people to meet outsides mosques and neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Mogadishu and in Bakara market.

One of the victims who witnessed the trial of the two accused told the judge that she was suspicious of both money laundering and informed the security forces, particularly the National Security and Intelligence Agency, who arrested Mohamed Ali Abdi Ishaq and Ahmed Yasin Haji Gabow, in late May this year.

The convicts have the opportunity to appeal within 30 days of their sentences.