Somali militia kidnaps Thai
Somali militiamen have kidnapped a Thai man from his hotel room and demanded the release of three of their compatriots who are currently serving 10-year jail sentences in Thailand.
Somali media reported yesterday that unidentified gunmen had dragged Sumanat Maneenin from his hotel room in the coastal town of Bosaso in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, late last month. The Foreign Ministry, which has no presence in Somalia, has meanwhile assigned its embassies in three neighbouring countries to secure the release of Sumanat. Ministry spokesman Kitti Wasinondh said initial reports showed that Sumanat, who worked for a maritime security company and had been hired to protect the Puntland shores, is safe. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the militia, Abdidahir Ali Elmi, told Somali website www.SomaliTalk.com that they had kidnapped the Thai man in response to the "illegal" capture and wrongful sentencing to long jail terms of three Somalis in Thailand. Elmi is quoted as saying that the families of the three Somali men - Yusuf Adan Seed, Mohamud Abdullahi Jama and Hussein Abdullahi Adan - had tried without success for more than 20 months to pressure both the Puntland and interim Somali governments to intervene directly in the case. "The [Somali] men were each sentenced to 10 years," Elmi said, adding that they will only negotiate with the Thai government, Somcan and/or Sirchai Fishing Company, the firm that employed Sumanat in Africa. Elmi rejected at least 12 conditions for the safe release of Sumanat, including the unconditional release of the three Somali men from Thai prisons. According to Elmi, quoted by the website, the three Somalis were employees of Somcan at the time they were "kidnapped" by a group of Thai nationals off the coast of Somalia. The three men were detained by a Thai crew with the help of US and British sailors after they tried to hijack a Thai-flagged vessel. People close to the case say the men were hired as security guards on the vessel by a private marine security firm, which was authorised by the Puntland administration to guard Somalian territorial waters. They allegedly took control of the ship over a salary dispute with their employer. American and British warships intervened and arrested them before their demands were met. They were subsequently sentenced to 10-year prison terms in Thailand, with neither Puntland nor the interim Somali government taking up their case.
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