'Al-Shabab Journalist' Returned to Somalia

Journalist extradited by Kenya following arrest and will stand trial for murder of colleagues

13 Dec 2014 15:04

A Somali journalist accused of murdering colleagues and working for armed group al-Shabab has been extradited to Mogadishu to stand trial, Somalia's information minister has said.

"Somali security forces helped the capture of Hassan Hanafi Haji who was hiding in Nairobi," Mustafa Duhulow, Somalia's minister of information, said in a statement on Saturday.

Hanafi, arrested in Kenya in August, was extradited to Somalia on December 9 to "face justice", the minister added, calling him "a well known senior al-Shabab member who was responsible for the killing of Somali journalists."

A series of journalists have been killed in recent years in Somalia, considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world to work as a reporter.

Al-Shabab fighters have carried out repeated attacks in Somalia and neighbouring Kenya as part of their fight to overthrow the country's internationally-backed government.

Hanafi was arrested in Nairobi after reportedly travelling to the Kenyan capital for medical treatment.