Press

News Articles

 

An alleged war criminal is on trial. He might have been your Uber or Lyft driver.
Marisa Iati, Washington Post
May 15, 2018

An Alexandria, Va., man is in federal court this week facing accusations that he tortured and tried to kill a perceived Somali dissident in the 1980s. Outside of court, he has been driving for Uber and Lyft.

 

Somali Villager Travels to US to Confront Army Chief He Says Tried to Kill Him
Richard Luscombe, The Guardian
May 14, 2018

Farhan Warfaa to give emotional testimony in Virginia courtroom in case that shines light on brutal 21-year reign of Siad Barre

 

Somali Torture Victim Will Face His Abuser After 31 Years – In US Court
by James Reinl, PRI
April 30, 2019

In December 1987, when Somali farmer Farhan Warfaa was just 17, he and other young men from around the remote town of Gebiley were rounded up and brought to the headquarters of the Fifth Brigade of the Somali National Army for questioning about a stolen water tank.

 

In the Valley of Death: Somaliland’s Forgotten Genocide
by Ismail Einashe and Matt Kennard, The Nation
October 22, 2018

Thirty years ago, the US-backed Somali government slaughtered an estimated 200,000 people. Now survivors want US help uncovering the crimes.

 

Somaliland: Kill All but the Crows
People and Power, Al Jazeera English
June 16, 2016

People and Power goes on the trail of a Somali army commander accused of involvement in mass killings and war crimes.

 

He’s accused of war crimes in Somalia. Now he works security at a U.S. airport.
by Scott Brownstein, Kyra Phillips and Curt Devine, CNN
June 2, 2016

A CNN investigation found that Yusuf Abdi Ali, who is accused of committing atrocities while he was a military commander during Somalia’s brutal civil war, has been living a quiet life near the nation’s capital for about 20 years.

 

The Guardian: Lawsuit could establish end to prosecution of war criminals living in US
by Richard Luscombe, The Guardian
September 15th, 2015
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to hear CJA case against war criminal living in Virginia. Court to rule on Alien Tort Statute, legislation widely used to prosecute human rights abuses.

 

Somali Expatriots Charged with War Crimes
The Washington Post
November 11th, 2004

A California-based human rights group has filed lawsuits accusing two Somali residents of Northern Virginia of war crimes, including ordering torture, killings, rapes and other acts of brutality against a rival clan during the 1980s when they held positions of power in their homeland…

 

A Safe Haven, But for Whom?
US News and World Report
November 15th, 1999

One evening last year, a 35-year-old Somali computer analyst was visiting a friend in a quiet Virginia suburb when he encountered a man whose name he had heard and cursed a thousand times but whom he had never expected to see–especially here. The computer analyst (fearing retribution, he asked to use the pseudonym Omer) says he was stunned. It turns out the other guest was Mohamed Ali Samantar…

Press Releases

 

Former Somali Army Commander Living in Virginia Found Liable for Torture During Country’s Civil War
May 21, 2019

A jury in the Eastern District of Virginia finds Colonel Yusuf Abdi Ali (aka “Tukeh”) liable for the torture of semi-nomadic Somali herder Farhan Warfaa

 

Former Somali Commander and Current Virginia Resident to Face Trial in Virginia for Torture and Attempted Extrajudicial Killing During Country’s Civil War
April 18, 2019

On May 13, 2019, former Somali National Army commander, Colonel Yusuf Abdi Ali, (aka “Tukeh”), a Virginia resident, will stand trial for his alleged role in the torture and attempted extrajudicial killing of Mr. Farhan Warfaa under the brutal Siad Barre regime, the military dictatorship that ruled Somalia from 1969 to 1991.

 

Fourth Circuit Denies Immunity to Former Somali War Criminal
February 1st, 2016

Fourth Circuit rules in Warfaa v. Ali that Colonel Yusuf Abdi Ali is not immune from suit for the torture and attempted murder of CJA client Farhan Mohamoud Tani Warfaa.

 

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to Review Standards for Accountability for Torture, War Crimes
September 4th, 2015

CJA and pro bono co-counsel DLA Piper presented oral argument in an appeal before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Warfaa v. Ali, a case brought by a Somali torture survivor against the responsible war criminal currently living in Virginia.

 

Former Somali Prime Minister and Military Officer Face Lawsuits in U.S. for Torture, Murder, Crimes Against Humanity
November 11th, 2004