STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Innocent Somali Fisherman Seeks Justice for Abduction by French

French authorities abducted fisherman Abdulqader Guled Said from Somalia and detained him in a French prison for four years for a crime he did not commit. Eventually acquitted and abandoned without money or contacts, Said is now seeking justice for the wrongful treatment he endured, as well as the psychological trauma he suffered over the last five years.

If there is one thing Abdulqader Guled Said regrets, it is accepting a ride home from his brother four years ago. French authorities abducted and detained the 35-year-old Somali fisherman and his brother Daher Guled Said in April 2008. At the time, Said had no clue why.

On their drive home from the port city of Gara'ad, Somalia, the brothers were restrained, blindfolded and immediately airlifted from a Somali desert road by French authorities under suspicion of participating in the hijacking of a French luxury yacht one week earlier.
Daher had actually been involved in the hijacking, unbeknownst to Said, yet both men along with several other Somalians were detained.
"It was awful. I was on my own in a very small cell," Mr. Said told the BBC about his four years in detention.
"Not understanding a word of what I was told. Not being able to communicate with the other detainees. The pain was deep. I suffered a lot," he said.
A Paris court ultimately acquitted Said last June, while his brother and three other detained Somalians were found guilty of piracy. Five years later, Said remains in France, broken and abandoned. The husband and father of one has requested asylum in France, for fear of being named a conspirator to the French by his fellow Somalians.

He hired a lawyer to seek compensation for his unwarranted abduction and imprisonment and the psychological trauma from which he suffers. Last October, the government was ordered to pay Said 90,000 Euros ($119,000), an amount Said's lawyer considered insubstantial in comparison to similar cases. They are currently appealing for a larger compensation and filing a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights.
Said has yet to receive his compensation and lives on a monthly government grant of 280 Euros per month — enough for one meal a day. He plans to have his family join him, if granted asylum.

In the meanwhile, Said continues to regret catching a ride with Daher and missing his son's birthdays.

BET Global News - Your source for Black news from around the world, including international politics, health and human rights, the latest celebrity news and more. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. 

Get ready for the BET Experience, featuring Beyoncé, Snoop DoggR. Kelly, Erykah BaduKendrick Lamar and many more. Go here for more details and info on how to buy tickets. Sign up now to attend free film screenings, celebrity basketball games and more.

(Photo: THOMAS COEX/AFP/GettyImages)



Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.