MOGADISHU, Somalia

Somalia's semiautonomous region Puntland's president Monday pardoned Kilwe Adan Farah, a journalist who has been in jail for 90 days.

Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni has granted a special presidential pardon to Kilwe Adan Farah, the regional State House said in a statement.

He was sentenced to three years in prison on March 17 in what Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) described as a farcical kangaroo court trial that took place inside the Garowe Central Prison.

The journalist was detained by Puntland intelligence unit, known as PISA, reportedly for his coverage of a Dec. 26 protest in Puntland against rising inflation, according to the SJS.

In the Horn of Africa country, 14 journalists have been arrested since the beginning of 2021, according to the journalists' trade union.

Welcoming the release, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) said: "Kilwe Adan Farah should never have been detained, let alone convicted of any crime. He continues to be innocent and was merely targeted for doing journalism."

"Puntland should refrain from trying journalists in military courts," Omar Faruk Osman, secretary general of NUSOJ, told Anadolu Agency by phone.