Somalia President’s son will attend his court case in Turkiye

The son of the President of Somalia will return to Turkey in the coming days to face trial over a fatal highway crash in Istanbul, Turkiye’s Justice Minister said, AP reports.

According to the report, Turkish authorities ordered the President’s son arrested and barred him from traveling abroad, but reports said Mohamud had already left Turkiye by the time the warrant was issued. Turkiye also launched an investigation into officials who conducted an initial investigation into the crash and reportedly allowed Mohamud to go free.

Yunus Emre Gocer, a 38-year-old motorcycle courier, was hit by a car driven by the Somalia President’s son, Mohammed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, on a highway in Istanbul. The man died in a hospital six days later,  on 6 December.

“We have held talks with Somali judicial authorities,” Justice Minister, Yilmaz Tunc, told reporters. “It will be possible for the defendant to come to Turkiye and to participate in the trial process in the coming days.”

“I have talked to the Somali Justice Minister and they look on the matter with good intentions,” Tunc said, adding that he hoped that the trial would open soon.

On Tuesday, Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, told The Associated Press that his 40-year-old son did not flee Turkiye

He said he has advised him to go back and present himself to court. The younger Mohamud, who is a doctor, stayed at the scene of the crash and remained in Istanbul for several days afterwards, the President said. He also extended his sympathy to Gocer’s family.

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