A 27-year-old Somali woman has been sentenced to three years in prison after posting criticism of her country's federal government on Facebook and TikTok, in a case that has drawn widespread condemnation from human rights organisations and former senior officials across Somalia.

Sadia Moalim Ali, a nursing graduate and rickshaw driver who is the primary breadwinner for her family and the mother of a one-year-old daughter, was convicted by the Banaadir Regional Court in Mogadishu on 25 June of insulting government institutions. She had spoken out on social media about youth unemployment, high fuel prices, and what she described as corruption, nepotism, and forced evictions carried out by the state. Originally charged with both insulting government institutions and incitement to commit a crime, she was ultimately convicted on the first count alone. Her lawyers have said they will appeal the ruling.

Ali, who has been in custody since 12 April, told the Guardian in a May interview from prison that she had been subjected to torture, including being forced face-down on the ground while water was poured on her, beaten with batons, and held in solitary confinement for two days without food or access to a toilet. She also reported that police officers had threatened her with rape. Torture is prohibited under international law and the UN Convention against Torture in all circumstances.

The sentencing has been condemned across the political spectrum in Somalia. Former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire described the conviction as