Man held in Italy jail for 18 years killed in Somalia blast

No group has claimed responsibility for his murder, but such incidents bear all the hallmarks of past attacks in Somalia by Al-Shabaab militants.

News Keydmedia Online
6 July 2022

MOGADISHU, Somalia - An explosion in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu on Wednesday morning killed Hashi Omar Hassan, a man who was held in an Italian prison for 18 years over the murder of two journalists in 1994.

Hashi has died from critical wounds sustained from a blast caused by an IED attached to his car that went off while driving in Dharkenley district, south of the capital, police, and witnesses said.

He was released from prison in Italy in 2016 after serving nearly 18 years for a crime he insisted did involve the 1994 murder of Italian reporter Ilaria Alpi and cameraman Miran Hrovatin.

The RAI journalists - Ilaria Alpi, 32, and her photographer Milan Hrovatin, 45, 1994, are believed to have died as a result of their investigation into toxic waste dumped in Somali waters.

It is not clear why Hashi was targeted, but Keymedia Online understands he was released in October 2016 after nearly 18 years in prison in Italy for murder charges.

After Hashi was acquitted by a court in Perugia which also sentenced a more than $3 million compensation to be given to the victim for wrongfully held in jail for years.

Since then, Hashi Omar Hassan has returned to Mogadishu and was making a living, with the compensation as he set up a construction company.

No group has claimed responsibility for his murder, but such incidents bear all the hallmarks of past attacks in Somalia by Al-Shabaab militants.

KEYDMEDIA English