The Regional Court of Marodijeh in Hargeisa has sentenced six defendants caught on April 16th by Somaliland law enforcement with nine cheetah cubs. The prison terms for the smugglers range from one and a half and two years and monetary fines of up to three million Somaliland Shillings, or around 350 US dollars. Some suspects were sentenced in absentia.
As President Cirro heads to Washington to tout Somaliland's democratic credentials, a sitting MP asks why the government has jailed dozens of journalists at home — and why the President has never once faced an open press conference.