Former political prisoner Bashir Garaad Ahmed Makhtal, simply known as Bashir Makhtal has returned to the Ogaden after many years.

Following his arrival today at Garaad Wil-Waal international airport in Jigjiga, supporters and family members of the Ex political prisoner poured into the airport to welcome Mr Makhtal. It was nearly a year ago, when Bashir Makhtal was released from an Ethiopian prison after unjustly serving more than a decade behind bars.

The story of the Makhtal family name goes back generations but regarding the individual at hand (Bashir Makhtal) it began in 2006. Bashir left his home in Canada in mid 2006 to the east of the Ogaden in neighboring Somalia on a business venture during the height of the Islamic Courts Union era. It was than in 2006 that Somalia and Bashir Makhtal himself fell victim to the pseudo US led  “war on terror”.

Prior to the US backed Ethiopian invasion of Somalia the nation was put under an internationally sanctioned “No Fly Zone” as a result of the pending invasion. This development forced Bashir and many others to flee to the Kenyan border in a bid to escape the onslaught. Upon making it to Kenya to seek sanctuary, Bashir and others found themselves illegally detained for weeks and questioned by security services.

While most were later released, Bashir Makhtal was held in secret detention, with no access to lawyers, his family or the Canadian Embassy. To make matters worse Bashir Makhtal was put on a plane in the middle of the night and renditioned to Ethiopia. Upon arriving in Ethiopia, the ruling Junta in  Ethiopia at the time accused Bashir of being a member and providing support to the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a resistance movement which has been waging a decades long insurgency against the Ethiopian regime in the occupied Somali territory of Ogaden.

Following his rendition in 2006, Bashir Makhtal was put on a grossly unfair trial in 2009 but despite the absence of credible evidence, Bashir was given a life sentence. Those following the case at the time believed his conviction was politically motivated due to the fact that his grandfather was a prominent figure in the founding of liberation movements in the Ogaden during the mid 20th century.

After serving nearly 12 years in prison, Bashir Makhtal was released from prison in mid 2018 as a part of a new prisoner release program by the newly (s)elected Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed. Fast forward nearly a year later Bashir Makhtal has returned to the Ogaden. A place where he’s admired by many and a land where his family name rose to prominence.

Those at Garaad Wil-Waal international airport in Jigjiga that where able to witness the return of Bashir Makhtal, have informed the editors of Halgan Media that it was a joyous moment and surreal experience to witness the return of man who means so much in the eyes of Somalis across the globe.

We will keep you updated with the latest developments and updates from the region.

Halgan Media