The charges filed in court against the owner of Somaliland’s ASTAAN TV, a local private station, were dropped on Thursday.
Abdimanan Yusuf, ASTAAN TV’s owner, has been in detention for several weeks.
Authorities arrested and presented him to the Marodi Jeh Provincial Court to answer charges of spying for the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) of Somalia.
However, the regional court opted to set him free on September 3.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Somaliland Journalists Association (SOLJA), Mohamoud Abdi Jama, hailed the court for taking such a bold decision.
During an interview with the country’s media, Jama said that the regional court’s decision was the right one.
He said, “SOLJA welcomes the decision by the court to quash the charges filed against Yusuf.”
Yusuf has been in court since July 17 when security forces in the country arrested him. Since then, he has been in jail unable to meet with either his loved ones or lawyers.