The Somali government has deported two European Union (EU) workers accused of violating the country's laws and rules by allegedly photographing prisoners at a detention center, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.
The accused individuals were identified as Jacek Jozef Ochman from Poland and Ralf Bernhard Gehlig from Germany. The EU workers were employed by the European Union Capability Building Mission in Somalia (EUCAP Somalia), which is aimed at supporting the development of Somali police capacity and maritime security.
The Somali attorney general, Sulayman Mohamed Mohamud, had requested that the workers be removed from the country, and the Somali government subsequently asked the EU to remove them within 72 hours.
According to local media, the workers left the country on Tuesday.
The expulsions are believed to be related to the detention of Iranian boats and 36 fishermen accused of illegal fishing in Somali waters.
In a letter sent by Mohamud to Somalia's minister of foreign affairs, Abshir Omar Jama, it was alleged that Ochman and Gehlig visited the detention center, which belongs to the Somali maritime police at Mogadishu's airport, and took photos of the prisoners.
The letter also said that taking the photos violated the Somali penal code, with Ochman leading the EU team that visited the center and ordered that the photos be taken, while Gehlig took them.
The attorney general requested that the Foreign Ministry remove the EU workers from Somalia as they have immunity and cannot be prosecuted for their alleged actions.
In March, the Somali Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources issued a press release stating that foreign vessels had been fishing illegally in Somalia's exclusive economic zone since January 2023, posing a significant threat to Somalia's fishing stock and marine ecology. As a consequence, the ministry has urged all foreign vessels engaging in such activities to leave Somalia's waters.