Somali security agents raid Universal TV office, arrest journalists
Nairobi, October 5, 2015–Somali national security forces raided the offices of the privately owned broadcaster Universal TV in Mogadishu on October 2 and arrested Abdullahi Hersi, the station’s East Africa director, and Awil Dahir Salad, a producer, on the same day, according to local journalists and reports.
Militia in central Somalia detains six journalists for four days
Ahlu Sunna Waljama, a formerly government-aligned religious militia based in central Somalia, detained six journalists from July 31, 2015, to August 3, 2015, in the central town of Dhusamareb, according to news reports and local journalists.
CPJ welcomes arrest of suspect behind Somali kidnapping
New York, June 12, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the arrest in Canada on Thursday of Ali Omar Ader, a Somali allegedly involved in the 2008 kidnapping of journalists Amanda Lindhout, Nigel Brennan, and Abdifatah Mohamed Elmi, a Somali fixer and photojournalist. Ali, who appeared briefly in court in Ottawa today, is alleged to…
Gunmen kill a radio journalist in Somalia
Nairobi, May 1, 2015–Unidentified armed men on Wednesday night shot dead Somali journalist Daud Ali Omar at his home, according to local journalists and news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Somali authorities to identify the motive in the murder and apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators. The gunmen broke into Daud’s house at…
Mission Journal: Fewer arrests but fear still lingers for Somaliland’s press
Conditions for the press in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland may, on the surface, appear to be improving. But without a functioning media law to lend protection, and pending legislative elections, journalists remain wary of state harassment.
Somali journalist shot by gunmen in Mogadishu
Nairobi, April 14, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the shooting attack on a Somali photographer in Mogadishu and calls on authorities to thoroughly investigate the case and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice. Farhan Suleiman Dahir works for the state-run Radio Mogadishu, whose journalists have been targeted several times in recent years.
Authorities arrest Shabelle Media Network journalists, close station again
Nairobi, April 7, 2015–Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency raided the Shabelle Media Network offices on April 3, arrested staff and shuttered the privately owned stations Radio Shabelle and Sky FM, according to local journalists. The raid came after the network aired a clip of the militant group Al-Shabab claiming responsibility for the attack on…
News from the Committee to Protect Journalists, March 2015
Press Uncuffed: Free the Press On March 26, CPJ partnered with students at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism and Knight chair and Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Dana Priest to launch the Press Uncuffed: Free the Press campaign at the Newseum in Washington. The campaign aimed to raise awareness about nine…
Radio journalists given hefty fines in Somalia, one still detained
Nairobi, March 3, 2015–A Somali court in Mogadishu on Sunday convicted one journalist of public incitement and two others of publishing false news and imposed harsh fines on them, according to news reports. The journalists are out of prison, but a fourth is still being detained, the reports said.