The company’s impunity was most recently evident when a senior executive, arrested on charges of sexual harassment and mistreatment of Somali employees in September, was released and the criminal case was quietly suppressed.
The case came to light in September when Ertuğrul Karaferiyeli, the human resources manager of Turkey’s Favori LLC airport management and ground handling firm, which has managed Mogadishu’s Aden Abdulle International Airport since 2013, was detained on September 17 over allegations of serious misconduct, including sexual harassment, threats, abuse of power and violations of labor laws in relation to Somali employees.
Karaferiyeli had been under investigation by the Office of the Attorney General in Somalia for an extended period before his arrest, with the Banadir Regional Court ultimately approving a detention order after reviewing evidence presented by prosecutors.
The arrest of the Turkish executive sent shockwaves through the Turkish government, which had facilitated the award of Mogadishu airport operations to Favori, which has close ties to Turkish President Erdogan. Following a flurry of communications and negotiations between Turkish and Somali officials, Karaferiyeli was released on October 2, behind-the-scenes discussions reportedly led to the victim’s family agreeing to withdraw their complaint in exchange for a $20,000 out-of-court settlement.
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