Various sources suggest the existence of a connection between IDP concentration in Mogadishu and level and composition of the prison population.209 Within this context, according to Abdirizak Farah Mohamed, a licensed Somali lawyer based in Mogadishu, there is a noticeable relationship between the two.210 In a similar vein, Zakia Hussen, former Deputy Police Commissioner General based in Mogadishu, notes that, while there are no direct links proven between prison and IDP population, ‘it is nonetheless safe to assume that IDPs would be disproportionately vulnerable to the justice system’.211
For this and other reasons that will become clear in the remainder of this chapter, this section - while addressing the situation in the Mogadishu’s detention facilities in general - should be read in conjunction with the situation of IDPs and as a complement to the preceding chapters.
- 209
Saferworld, Detainee and detention centre conditions in Mogadishu, Kismayo and Baidoa, January 2022, url, pp. ii, 13; see also UNHCR and FGS, Internal Displacement Profiling Mogadishu, April 2016, url, pp. 6, 41-42
- 210
Abdirizak Farah Mohamed, Email exchange, 25, 29 March 2026. Abdirizak Farah Mohamed is a licensed Somali lawyer with focus on civil and criminal cases, based in Mogadishu, and with several years of experience appearing before ordinary and military courts. He is a member of the East Africa Law Society (EALS) and the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU)
- 211
Zakia Hussen, Telephone interview and email exchange, 11, 24 March 2026