NAIROBI, Kenya — Somalia has closed an underground prison where the government has held extremist suspects and journalists amid allegations of abuses against inmates, the security minister said Sunday. Ahmed Abukar said that Godka Jilaow prison, which held hundreds of prisoners including suspected al-Shabab fighters, would be turned into a technical school. The prison, which was run by Somalia’s intelligence agency, has been closed as part of efforts to improve the country’s human rights record, he said. There were many allegations that prisoners were tortured in the underground cells, according to human rights groups. Many suspects have been held in the prison for years without charges, while others faced military trials, according to rights activists.

Source: Washington Post December 16, 2018 17:48 UTC