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| Somali woman who alleged rape given jail term | Somali woman who alleged rape given jail term |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A woman who accused Somalia's security forces of rape has been given a year jail term for making a false accusation and insulting a government body. | A woman who accused Somalia's security forces of rape has been given a year jail term for making a false accusation and insulting a government body. |
| The journalist who interviewed her about the alleged rape, but did not report the story, was also found guilty by a judge in the capital, Mogadishu. | |
| Judge Ahmed Aden Farah said the woman would not go to jail immediately as she is caring for a young child. | Judge Ahmed Aden Farah said the woman would not go to jail immediately as she is caring for a young child. |
| A BBC reporter in Mogadishu says there has been an angry reaction to the case. | A BBC reporter in Mogadishu says there has been an angry reaction to the case. |
| Many human rights groups and journalists say it is politically motivated, the BBC's Mohamed Mwalimu reports from Mogadishu. | Many human rights groups and journalists say it is politically motivated, the BBC's Mohamed Mwalimu reports from Mogadishu. |
| 'Offending state institutions' | |
| Judge Farah said the court based its decision on medical evidence that the woman was not raped. | Judge Farah said the court based its decision on medical evidence that the woman was not raped. |
| The woman had reported the alleged rape at a police station in Hodan, a district in Mogadishu where many displaced people live. | The woman had reported the alleged rape at a police station in Hodan, a district in Mogadishu where many displaced people live. |
| "We sentence her for offending state institutions by claiming she was raped," the AFP news agency quotes the judge as saying. | "We sentence her for offending state institutions by claiming she was raped," the AFP news agency quotes the judge as saying. |
| "She will spend one year in prison after finishing the breast feeding of her baby." | "She will spend one year in prison after finishing the breast feeding of her baby." |
| Charges against the woman's husband and two others, who allegedly helped introduce her to the journalist, were dropped. | |
| The journalist, Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim, has been in detention since 10 January - two days after his interview with the woman. | |
| The police alleged he collected material for a news report by al-Jazeera about rape in camps for displaced people in Mogadishu. The Qatar-based news network has said Mr Ibrahim was not involved in its story. | |
| Prosecutors also alleged that the woman and her accomplices had been paid by the journalist to lie. | |
| Last month, the UN special representative on sexual violence, Zainab Hawa Bangura, said the Somali government's approach to the case did not "serve the interest of justice; it only serves to criminalise victims and undermine freedom of expression for the press", AP news agency reports. | |
| Last September, a new president was elected by MPs in a process backed by the UN. | |
| The new government is trying to rebuild Somalia after more than 20 years of conflict which saw clan-based warlords, rival politicians and Islamist militants battle for control of the country. |