New York, April 5, 2013–Police in Somalia say they have been holding a woman in custody for much of this week after they say questions were raised about the veracity of reports that a journalist was fatally shot in Mogadishu on March 24.
Police said they have been questioning the woman in connection with reports that gunmen killed an individual identified as radio journalist Rahmo Abdulkadir. Police said they did not find evidence of a killing. The woman in custody is said to have publicized the shooting, although it was unclear whether she notified police directly.
Numerous news organizations published reports saying that the journalist had been fatally shot, many of those reports citing information from a person described as a former employer and people described as witnesses. CPJ, citing those initial news reports and its own interviews with local journalists, issued a statement in the aftermath, as did numerous other press freedom and human rights groups.
Police have not disclosed any formal charges. They said they expect to issue a statement on the case.
CPJ is reviewing the circumstances of the initial report and the police response. Somali police have not solved more than 20 journalist murders that have occurred in the country over the past decade.