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– The Ministry of Foreign Affairs takes this case very seriously, in which a Norwegian has been sentenced to death, Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide tells Dagbladet.
On Saturday, Søreide made direct contact with President Muse Bihi Abdi in the breakaway republic of Somaliland, where Norwegian citizen Saad Jidre (54) was sentenced to death on Wednesday.
“Unacceptable”
– 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, says Foreign Minister Søreide.
He also emphasized that the Norwegian must have access to ordinary legal procedures.
– The president assured me that the execution of the death penalty would not happen now, and that the Norwegian citizen would have the opportunity to appeal, says Søreide.
SOMALILAND PRESSER: Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide has delivered a clear message to the President of Somaliland. – The death penalty is unacceptable and should not be carried out, says Søreide. Photo: Lars E vivos Bones / Dagbladet
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The Norwegian Ambassador in Nairobi has also contacted the Somaliland Foreign Minister and the Supreme Court Justice to express the views of the Norwegian authorities.
Somaliland presser foot
– We have conveyed the same to the representative of Somaliland in Norway, when he was called to the Foreign Ministry on Friday, says Søreide.
The Foreign Minister has made clear to the Somaliland authorities what Norway thinks about the death penalty.
– We distance ourselves from any use of the death penalty, says the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
I fully understand that this situation is difficult for both the Norwegian and his family, Søreide tells Dagbladet.
Use all channels
– What are the Norwegian authorities doing in this case in which Saad Jidre, a Norwegian citizen since 1995, has been sentenced to death by shooting in Somaliland?
– We will continue to raise the issue with local authorities. At the same time, Norway is cooperating with the EU and the international committee of the Red Cross, which is represented in Somaliland, says Søreide.
– The Foreign Ministry has consularly worked with this case since the Norwegian was arrested in April, and we have intensified our work after the verdict fell on Wednesday. We work through all relevant diplomatic channels, both here in Oslo and at our embassy in Nairobi, says Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide.
“We are relieved”
– We are very relieved and grateful that the Norwegian authorities are doing everything possible to stop the execution, says Mustafa Hayd, one of the seven children of those sentenced to death in Norway.
FATHER AND SON: – We hope that the Norwegian authorities will succeed in preventing the father from being executed, says his son Mustafa Hayd (right). Here with his father – Saad Jidre sentenced to death. Photo: Private
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– Today I have not been able to speak directly with Dad, but through his lawyer I understand that Dad now sees it more clearly. He is in a completely terrible and inhuman situation, his son Mustafa Hayd tells Dagbladet.
Since he was arrested on the night of April 5 this year in Hargeisa, Somaliland, Saad Jidre has denied his criminal guilt. While he has been detained in a pirate prison, which the Norwegian authorities have helped to finance, he has also been tried for poisoning with snake venom.
Waiting
– We are very happy that the Norwegian authorities and Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide are taking this case seriously, says Saad Jidre’s Norwegian development assistance lawyer John Christian Elden.
WAIT: – We hope that the Norwegian authorities will do everything possible to prevent a Norwegian from being executed, says lawyer John Christian Elden Photo: Nina Hansen / Dagbladet
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– We assume that the Norwegian authorities are working too hard to prevent a Norwegian from being executed, says the lawyer.
Together with his colleague Farid Bouras, Elden has in recent days tried to get the Somaliland authorities to cancel the planned execution of Saad Jidre.
