– Fear that someone will take the law into their own hands – VG

Farid Bouras says he and attorney John Christian Elden have worked day and night over the weekend to save their client’s life. On Sunday, they held lengthy talks with Somalia’s Foreign Minister Yasin Haji Mohamoudom.

– We believe that the authorities of the country take us seriously and we have received the insurance that is possible to get, says Bouras to VG.

Still, they fear for the safety of Saad Jider Hayd.

– The verdict is based on Sharialov and it’s scary. Therefore, we take action because we fear that someone will take the law into their own hands, says the lawyer.

Somaliland is a self-proclaimed republic in the Horn of Africa characterized by many ethnic clans.

– We are also working for these clans that largely rule the country. The verdict as it stands today is open to blood revenge and, therefore, we must also work from the clan, not only against the judiciary and politically, says Bouras.

“Poisonous spray”

The Norwegian citizen was sentenced to death on Wednesday, and on Thursday his family was informed that he was to be executed by shooting on Saturday. Hours before the execution, the 54-year-old was informed that it had been postponed.

According to the brief verdict given to VG, the Norwegian is said to have “committed a premeditated murder by killing NN (anonymized by VG) with a poisonous spray.”

Saad Jider Hayd, who has lived in Norway for the past 25 years and has an address in Oslo, has been detained in a Norwegian-funded prison in Hargeisa since April.

The man he was convicted of was an acquaintance who died after the two allegedly ended up in a fight. Boruas had previously told VG that his client used pepper spray in self-defense when he was assaulted by the now-deceased man.

Urgent meeting

According to Bouras, Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi convened the judge, prosecutor and attorney general for an emergency meeting on the case on Monday.

– We have received guarantees that they will ensure that the law is followed to the letter, says Bouras.

Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide spoke with President Muse Bihi Abdi this weekend.

She says in a statement previously reproduced by Dagbladet that the Foreign Ministry takes the matter very seriously.

– On Saturday morning, I contacted the President of Somaliland and gave him a clear message that the death penalty is unacceptable and should not be carried out, and that the Norwegian should have access to ordinary judicial procedures. The president assured me that the execution of the death penalty would not take place now and that the Norwegian citizen would have the opportunity to appeal.

– Our ambassador in Nairobi has also contacted the Somaliland Foreign Minister and the Supreme Court Justice to express the views of the Norwegian authorities. We conveyed the same to the representative of Somaliland in Norway, when he was called to the Foreign Ministry on Friday.

The Foreign Minister underlines that the Norwegian authorities distance themselves from any use of the death penalty and says she has a strong understanding that this situation is difficult for both the Norwegian and his family.

– We will continue to raise the issue with local authorities and cooperate with the EU and the international committee of the Red Cross on the ground. The Foreign Ministry has been working consularly on this case since the Norwegian was arrested in April, and we have intensified our work after the verdict was rendered on Wednesday. We work through all relevant diplomatic channels, both here in Oslo and at our embassy in Nairobi, says Søreide.