Journalists harassed, arrested throughout Somalia
Between February 19 and April 9, federal and regional authorities in Somalia arrested at least two reporters and harassed at least four others, according to journalists who spoke to CPJ and a statement by the Somali Journalists Syndicate, a local press rights group. Most of the journalists were targeted for their political reporting, amid tensions…
Somali military court sentences journalist Kilwe Adan Farah to 3 years in prison
Nairobi, March 18, 2021 — In response to yesterday’s decision by a military court in the semi-autonomous Somali state of Puntland sentencing journalist Kilwe Adan Farah to three years in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Sentencing journalist Kilwe Adan Farah to three years in prison, with neither his lawyer nor…
Somalia military court sentences journalist Kilwe Adan Farah to prison
Nairobi, March 04, 2021— Prosecutors in Puntland, the semi-autonomous Somali region, must not appeal to lengthen the prison sentence of journalist Kilwe Adan Farah, and the authorities must desist from harassing or intimidating him and ensure that military courts are not used as a weapon against the media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On March 3,…
Somali journalist Jamal Farah Adan shot and killed, Al-Shabaab claims responsibility
Nairobi, March 4, 2021 — Authorities in the Somali semi-autonomous region of Puntland should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Farah Adan and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In the evening of March 1, two unidentified men shot and killed Jamal outside…
Journalist Kilwe Adan Farah detained, accused of murder in Somali state of Puntland
Nairobi, January 20, 2021 – Authorities in the semi-autonomous Somali state of Puntland should immediately and unconditionally release journalist Kilwe Adan Farah, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 27, 2020, intelligence personnel in Garowe, the capital of Puntland, detained Kilwe, who runs the Facebook-based news outlet Kilwe Media Inc, according to posts…
Somali radio journalist detained for 5 days after conducting interview
On October 17, 2020, Somali security personnel arrested Abdullahi Kulmiye Adow, a reporter with the local privately owned broadcaster Radio Kulmiye, days after he interviewed a businessman who professed support for the militant group Al-Shabaab, according to media reports and Abdullahi, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app. Abdullahi told CPJ that plain-clothed officers came…
Getting Away with Murder
CPJ’s 2020 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and their killers go free By Elana Beiser/CPJ Editorial Director Published October 28, 2020 Incremental progress toward reducing the murders of journalists worldwide is fragile and could be thwarted by legal appeals and lack of political leadership, CPJ found in its latest report on…
CPJ, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International express concern over Somalia’s amended media law
The Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International today sent a joint letter to the president of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, expressing concern over a restrictive amended media law and asking the president to take concrete steps to safeguard press freedom and journalist safety during upcoming elections. The…
Somali military court acquits radio journalist Mohamed Abdiwahab Nuur
Nairobi, August 5, 2020—In response to a Somali military court’s decision today to acquit radio journalist Mohamed Abdiwahab Nuur of charges of murder and being a member of the militant group Al-Shabaab, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We are glad that the military court affirmed Mohamed Abdiwahab Nuur’s innocence of trumped-up…
Somali court sentences editor to 6 months in prison for spreading false news
Nairobi, July 29, 2020 — In response to a Somali court sentencing Goobjoog Media Group Deputy Director Abdiaziz Ahmed Gurbiye to six months in prison on false news charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “This conviction, in a case that should never have been entertained by the courts, is not only…