Judge known for jailing pirates shot dead in Bossaso, Somalia

November 12, 2009

A judge known for jailing pirates and Islamists in Somalia has been shot dead by gunmen. Sheik Mohamed Abdi Aware was shot in the head and chest by two masked men outside a mosque in Bossaso.

As well as being a High Court judge, Aware was also a member of Puntland’s supreme judicial council. During his work in Bossaso, Aware had sentenced several Islamists, pirates and people smugglers.

His cousin Abdulahi Jama said to reporters: "These gangs hate him for his justice. We suspect one of them may have something to do with his assassination". Three people are in custody after being arrested.

On Wednesday, Ibrahim Elmi Warsame, a local member of parliament was shot dead as he sat in a tea shop. It was not immediately known if the shootings were related.