Voice of America
15 May 2019, 14:06 GMT+10
A resident of Virginia is the subject of a lawsuit accusing him of human rights abuses while he was a high-ranking officer during the brutal reign of dictator Siad Barre.
A civil trial began this week in a U.S. federal courtroom in Alexandria, Virginia, against Yusuf Abdi Ali in suit brought against him by Farhan Mohamoud Tani Warfaa, who says he was tortured and nearly died in 1988 at the hands of Ali.
The lawsuit says Ali was commander of the Somali army's Fifth Brigade, which patrolled the breakaway region of Somaliland. Ali allegedly rounded up Warfaa and other young men in late 1987 for interrogation over a missing water tanker. Warfaa says he was detained for several months, during which time he was regularly stripped naked and beaten. In the last interrogation, Warfaa says Ali shot him several times and ordered his soldiers to bury him, believing he was dead.
But the soldiers realized he was alive and smuggled him to his family in exchange for a bribe.
Ali fled to Canada after Barre's regime was toppled in 1991. He was deported to the United States after his alleged war crimes were revealed in a television documentary. He has been living in Virginia for more than two decades, working at one time as a security guard at a Washington-area airport. His lawyer has denied the charges.
The lawsuit was brought on Warfaa's behalf by the San Francisco-based Center for Justice and Accountability, which seeks to bring alleged war criminals to justice.
A similar lawsuit brought a $21 million judgement against former Somali Prime Minister Mohammed Al Samantar, who had also taken up residence in Virginia after the fall of the Barre regime.
Get a daily dose of Toronto Telegraph news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Toronto Telegraph.
More InformationHUNG YEN, Vietnam: A new US$1.5 billion luxury golf and residential project backed by the Trump Organization officially broke ground...
SYDNEY, Australia: Australian businesses are feeling optimistic about their prospects in China despite escalating global trade tensions,...
MOSCOW, Russia: Russia's top oil company, Rosneft, has taken over control of the country's largest rare earth metals deposit, Tomtor,...
GOTHENBURG, Sweden: Volvo Cars is stepping up its collaboration with Google to become the lead development partner for Android automotive...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stock markets fell Friday as President Donald Trump launched an extraordinary attack on the European Union,...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Levi Strauss is parting ways with Dockers. The denim giant announced this week that it will sell the Dockers...
OTTAWA, Canada: Canada's inflation picture became more complicated in April, with headline inflation easing but core measures ticking...
(250525) -- TORONTO, May 25, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Alonso Coello (top) of Toronto FC vies for a header with Sam Surridge (bottom) of Nashville...
(250525) -- TORONTO, May 25, 2025 (Xinhua) -- People walk past a 2025 Doors Open Toronto event poster in Toronto, Canada, on May 24,...
Montreal [Canada], May 24 (ANI): In a groundbreaking study, researchers from McGill University have identified nine biological markers...
Migration and economic issues were the most commonly cited reasons, according to a YouGov survey More than half of Germans would...
The British, French and Canadian leaders issued a joint statement on May 19 in which they condemned Israel's egregious actions in Gaza,...