Somalia - IFEX

Somali journalist denied access to his lawyer during his two-month detention

Marianna Tzabiras — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 20:45:44 +0000

This statement was originally published on cpj.org on 16 October 2023.

The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes an October 11 court decision to dismiss the criminal case against Somali journalist Mohamed Ibrahim Osman Bulbul and calls on authorities to desist from arbitrarily detaining journalists.

“Mohamed Ibrahim Osman Bulbul endured nearly two months of detention and faced punitive legal proceedings simply because he dared to report allegations of corruption,” said Muthoki Mumo, CPJ’s sub-Saharan Africa representative. “While it is a relief that the case against Mohamed is over, Somali authorities owe it to him to investigate the circumstances under which he was detained arbitrarily and ensure that no journalists suffer similar ordeals in the future.”

Somali police detained Mohamed, an editor with the privately owned Kaab TV and the information and human rights secretary for the local press rights group Somali Journalists Syndicate, on August 17, a day after he published a report on allegations of corruption within the police force.

He was denied access to his lawyer and family and was charged in September with anti-national propaganda, bringing the Somali nation into contempt, causing false alarm, and publishing false news, according to the charge sheet reviewed by CPJ and a Somali Journalists Syndicate statement.

On September 25, a court in Mogadishu ruled that since Mohamed was a journalist, he could not be charged under the penal code and directed the prosecution to present new charges in conformity with the country’s media law, according to statements by the syndicate and a person familiar with the case who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity citing fear of professional retaliation.

When the prosecution failed to present new charges against Mohamed during an October 11 hearing, the court discontinued the case.

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Somali journalist detained illegally for reporting on corruption

Marianna Tzabiras — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 19:47:57 +0000

This statement was originally published originally on rsf.org on 28 August 2023.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the immediate release of a Somali TV journalist who has been held by the Mogadishu police for more than ten days for reporting on an alleged case of corruption involving senior police officers.

Kaab TV editor Mohamed Ibrahim Bulbul, who is also information and human rights secretary at the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), was attending a class at the university on 17 August when four armed plainclothes policemen came and took him away in an unmarked car.

The previous day, Bulbul had reported on the air that senior Somali police officers who had participated in a capacity building training seminar organised and funded by the European Union (EUCAP Somalia) were suspected of misusing funds in connection with the seminar.

After sustaining injuries to the chest and a shoulder while being taken from the university to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Mogadishu, Bulbul was detained for two days in a cell with no mattress and without being given enough food and water, and was interrogated without a lawyer being present.

He was taken before a Banaadir regional court judge on 19 August and was transferred to a cell in the CID centre in the Mogadishu suburb of Sheelare on 22 August. Neither his lawyer nor his family has been allowed to visit him since then.

“Journalists must be able to investigate and publish information freely, including on governance issues within Somalia’s defence and security forces. The Somali authorities have held Mohamed Ibrahim Bulbul in a completely illegal manner for more than ten days. We demand the immediate release of Kaab TV’s editor and respect for the confidentiality of journalists’ sources. RSF is also concerned about other arrests of journalists in connection with their work in recent weeks.”

Sadibou Marong, Director of RSF’s sub-Saharan Africa desk

CID police officers called the SJS on 21 August to get access to Bulbul’s phone and laptop and ask questions about the sources for his recent story. RSF condemns these requests, which have no legal basis and endanger the confidentiality of his sources.

The Somali authorities have yet to announce the official reasons for Bulbul’s arrest and what he is charged with. The SJS general secretary said the head of the Banaadir regional police ordered his arrest without a valid warrant.

“The police should investigate the suspected misuse of funds by the police instead of targeting the journalist who reported it,” the head of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) told RSF.

Three other Somali journalists have been arrested in the past two weeks. Channel Five Somali TV reporter Zakariye Mohamed Salad and cameraman Mohamed Dulmi-diid were covering the consequences of the previous day’s Al-Shabaab attacks on 23 August when they were arrested by the Mogadishu police and held for three hours.

Goobjoog TV reporter Abdifatah Yusuf Beereed was arrested in Dhuusamareeb, the capital of the central state of Galmudug, on 15 August while interviewing members of the regional police about their salaries. He was released without any charge after being held overnight.

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Somali journalist Abdalle Ahmed Mumin faces judicial harassment

Marianna Tzabiras — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 20:11:59 +0000

This statement was originally published on africafex.org on 18 January 2023.

The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) strongly condemns the prolonged detention and harassment of Somali media rights advocate, Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, and calls on the Somali authorities to drop all charges against him.

More than 90 days have passed since the judicial harassment and persecution of the co-founder and secretary general of the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) began. In the latest development, the second hearing of the case, which seriously affronts press freedom and the safety of the journalists in Somalia, concluded after the Banadir Regional court adjourned the case to January 19, 2023.

During the second hearing held on January 15, 2023, Mumin protested the flagrant abuse of his rights by asking a series of questions, including, why he was detained without a court warrant and why he was held at the Godka Jila’ow underground prison, which the Somali government said had been closed.

“Why are you detaining me without a court warrant? Why Godka Jila’ow despite previous claim of closing the notorious underground prison? Why are you holding me at the CID while the police did not arrest me? Why were all the three charges trumped up 45 days after my detention? Why only me out of five other media organisations? Why is this case being delayed for 4 months now without no genuine reason?” he questioned the court.

Mumin’s case has dragged on from October 11, 2022 when he was arrested at the Aden Adde International Airport in the capital Mogadishu by officers of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), as he was preparing to board a flight to Nairobi. He was arrested shortly after he published on his Twitter account some CCTV footage, reportedly from the premises of the SJS’ office in Mogadishu the previous night, showing security forces trying to break into the office.

An official statement issued by the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism on October 12, 2022, stated that Mumin was being held on security-related charges.

“In contact with the National Prosecution Office, the ministry was informed that Abdalla Mumin is in the hands of the Somali Police Force and is being held on security-related charges. The Ministry, therefore, confirms that Abdalle Mumin has no charges related to his work as a journalist,” the statement reads.

The authorities held Mumin for days before releasing him on bail. He would later be detained again on October 18, 2022 and released on bail for the second time on October 26 as his health deteriorated while in detention.

According to Mumin’s lawyers, prosecutors from the office of the Attorney General charged him under Article 219 (Bringing the Nation or the State into contempt), Article 321 (Instigation to disobey the laws), and Article 505 (non-observance of orders of the authorities) of the Somali penal code.

The judicial harassment of Mumin raised indignation in the country. Many human and media rights organisations denounced the repeated violations of his rights and the conditions the Ministry of Information gave on November 15, 2022, as alternative to having all charges against him dropped. More specifically, the Ministry requested, among other conditions, that Mumin quit his media advocacy work and abandon future criticism of the authorities before all charges against him are dropped. However, Mumin and the media advocates turned down the conditions they considered “unacceptable and unlawful”.

AFEX is appalled by the judicial harassment of Abdalle Mumin and the outrageous conditions placed on his freedom. We join our voices to that of the media and the international community to condemn the brazen assault on the journalist’s rights, we call on the Somali authorities to drop all charges against him. The Somali authorities must stop restricting legitimate press freedom and freedom of expression on the basis of national security claims.

Members of AFEX:

ADISI-Cameroon
Africa Freedom of Information Centre
Association for Media Development in South Sudan
Center for Media Studies and Peace Building
Collaboration on International ICT Policy in Eastern and Southern Africa (CIPESA)
Freedom of Expression Institute
Gambia Press Union (GPU)
Human Rights Network for Journalists – Uganda
Institute for Media and Society
International Press Centre
Journaliste en danger
Media Foundation for West Africa
Media Institute of Southern Africa
Media Rights Agenda
West African Journalists Association

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Journalists in Somalia, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria faced increasing attacks in October

Marianna Tzabiras — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 01:47:59 +0000

This statement was originally published on ipi.media on 25 October 2022.

Summary of IPI Africa Press Freedom Monitoring: October 2022

Attacks against independent media in Somalia, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria intensified in October, as journalists in these countries faced numerous threats to their safety that included physical attacks and arrests, according to IPI monitoring of press freedom violations in Africa.

In total, 44 press freedom violations were identified in October across 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, with 33 of these incidents involving male journalists and four involving female journalists. According to IPI data, state actors — such as state security agents or police — were involved in a vast majority of these incidents.

The highest number of identifed cases (14) occured in Somalia, where independent journalists and civil society have come under increasing attack amid escalating violence and deterioring security conditions due to ongoing clashes between government forces and the Islamist armed group Al-Shabab.

On October 11, journalist and secretary general of the Somali Journalist Syndicate (SJS), Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, was arrested twice by state security forces, after the SJS spoke up against a new government directive aimed at fighting terrorist propaganda that the media community has warned curtails press freedom. According to SJS, more than 40 online press outlets were removed as a result of this directive.

On October 29, journalist Mohamed Isse Koonaa was killed and two others were injured in a suicide bomb attack in Mogadishu, which also killed more than 100 people.

In Zimbabwe, IPI identified and documented at least 12 press freedom violations — the second most incidents of any country in sub-Saharan Africa in October. Three journalists were physically assaulted, including two reporters for HStvNEWS who were assaulted by the police in the Harare suburb of Mbare while they were working on a documentary, according to MISA Zimbabwe. There were also multiple cases in which authorities restricted access to information by prohibiting certain journalists from covering events.

In Nigeria, four journalists were arrested, including Abdulrasheed Akogun and Dare Akogun, who were arrested on criminal charges for comments they posted in a popular WhatsApp group chat. They were accused of criminal conspiracy, defamation, inciting disturbance, injurious falsehood, and cyberstalking. Authorities also ordered the closure of at least six media outlets for covering an opposition political rally.

IPI monitors and collects data on press freedom violations in Africa using a standardized methodology that categorizes violations across the following main categories: physical, verbal or online attacks; arrests and charges against journalists; surveillance of journalists; cases of censorship; laws and regulations that restrict the press freedom; and restriction on access to information. Data are further disaggregated by gender. Our monitoring and data collection activities are part of IPI’s wider Africa programme, which aims to defend press freedom and the safety of journalists in sub-Saharan Africa.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL FACT SHEET HERE

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Somali Journalists Syndicate secretary-general arrested

Marianna Tzabiras — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 16:20:18 +0000

This statement was originally published on cpj.org on 11 October 2022.

In response to reports of the arrest of Somali press freedom advocate and freelance journalist Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement on Tuesday calling for his immediate release:“Abdalle Ahmed Mumin is a fearless and tireless advocate for the rights of Somali journalists to report the news freely and independently. His arrest is an unacceptable aggression and is undoubtedly sending a ripple of fear through the Somali media community,” said CPJ sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo. “Authorities should release Abdalle Ahmed Mumin immediately and unconditionally, and should instead work to create a climate in which Somali journalists can work without fear.”

About 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 11, intelligence personnel at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport arrested Abdalle, cofounder and secretary-general of the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), according to the syndicate’s president and cofounder, Mohamed Ibrahim Isak, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app, and Twitter posts from Somali media outlets. Abdalle, who was traveling to Nairobi at the time of arrest, has since been transferred to a detention facility managed by Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency, Mohamed said.

In a tweet published shortly before his arrest, Abdalle reported that intelligence officials had on Monday evening attempted to force entry into the syndicate’s office in Mogadishu, and harassed other tenants in the building. Mohamed said that he believed this raid and Abdalle’s arrest were connected to a Monday press conference, held at the syndicate’s Mogadishu office, in which a group of five local press rights groups condemned a recent government directive broadly banning intentional and unintentional “dissemination of extremism ideology” in the media and by the public.

Somalia’s deputy information minister Abdirahman Yusuf Omar, who also goes by Adala, told CPJ via messaging app that Abdalle’s arrest did not have to do with journalism or the journalist’s opinions. In response to a request to clarify why Abdalle had been arrested, he said he would share information once “security agencies finalize (the) issue.” Abdirahman said the ministry’s directive on extremism ideology was targeted at propaganda by the militant group Al-Shabaab and that the government “will not harm any freedom for its people.”

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Somali journalist Ahmed Mohamed Shukur killed

Marianna Tzabiras — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 10:11:06 +0000

This statement was originally published on rsf.org on 4 October 2022.

The death of a young Somali TV reporter, who was killed by a landmine while covering a counter-terrorist operation by the security forces last week, has highlighted the need for more effective measures to protect journalists in Somalia, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF), calling for urgent action by the authorities.

A reporter for Somali National Television (SNTV), Ahmed Mohamed Shukur was the first Somali journalist to be killed in the course of their work this year. He was killed instantly on 30 September by a landmine explosion in Balcad, about 30 km northeast of the capital, Mogadishu, in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region.

Aged 20, he was covering a counter-terrorism operation by the Somali armed forces aimed at dislodging Al-Shabaab militants from the area. An Islamist armed group affiliated to Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab has been responsible for many suicide-bombings and attacks on civilians and military in Somalia. A regional police commander was killed in the same incident.

“Ahmed Mohamed Shukur’s death is a shock,” said Sadibou Marong, the director of RSF’s Africa bureau. “In the course of his short professional life, this war reporter captured poignant images showing the reality of the armed conflict in his country. His death is a new wake-up call about the need for the authorities to create more effective measures to protect journalists. Press freedom must be protected so that people can continue to have access to quality reporting.”

RSF joins the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), its partner in Somalia, in presenting its condolences to Shukur’s family, colleagues and friends.

A NUSOJ statement said: “He was a dedicated journalist, who often assumed great personal risk to factually report on what was going on in the Middle Shabelle region despite previous threats by Al-Shabaab because of his affiliation with government media.”

His death has underscored the need for the authorities to quickly implement the “National Action Plan” on journalists’ safety that was drafted and adopted at a three-day Consultative Forum on Safety and Security of Somali Journalists at the start of September in Mogadishu. Internal security minister Mohamed Ahmed Sheikh Ali told the forum that “your safety and security is of uttermost priority for us” and pledged to “improve relations between journalists and the security forces so that you operate in a conducive environment.”

No journalist had been killed in Somalia for more than 10 months. The most recent previous victim was Radio Mogadishu director Abdiaziz Mohamud Guled, who was killed in his car on 20 November 2021 in a targeted suicide bombing claimed by Al-Shabaab. SNTV director Sharmarke Mohamed Warsame, who was with Guled in the car, was badly injured by the blast. Somalia continues to be Africa’s deadliest country for journalists, with more than 50 killed in the past 12 years.

Somalia is ranked 140th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2022 World Press Freedom Index.

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Police shoot Somali journalist during militant siege

Marianna Tzabiras — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 16:29:32 +0000

This statement was originally published on rsf.org on 29 August 2022.

A Somali TV reporter was badly wounded when two members of an elite police unit fired on him as he tried to cover the recent hotel siege in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, and yet they were released within hours. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for a full police investigation into this flagrant case of impunity.

Ahmed Omar Nur, a reporter and cameraman with M24TV, was nearly killed on 21 August when he was sent to cover the security operation carried out to end the siege at the Hayat Hotel by Al-Shabaab, a Jihadi armed group linked to Al-Qaeda. Ten minutes after he arrived, two members of the Haramcad elite police unit opened fire on him at point-blank range, shooting him in the mouth.

“Equipped with his camera and press card, Ahmed Omar Nur was determined to cover this story for the Somali public but, far from protecting him, two policemen opened fire on him and he became the latest victim of the incredible violence against journalists in Somalia,” said Sadibou Marong, the head of RSF’s West Africa bureau. “Following the release of the two police officers, we remind the authorities of their obligation to protect journalists and to conduct effective investigations in order to end the reign of impunity.”

Shooters freed, investigation closed

After being rushed to Mogadishu’s Madina Hospital, Nur underwent several long operations to extract the bullet from his jaw and was finally able to go home. Regular police arrested the two Haramcad officers on the same day as the shooting and took them to the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). But they were freed within hours after their Haramcad superiors intervened and got the CID to close the investigation before it had decided what charges to bring against them.

At Nur’s request and with his father’s support, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) – RSF’s partner organisation in Somalia – has filed a complaint with the office of the special prosecutor tasked with investigating crimes against journalists.

“We are puzzled and disturbed by this attack by elements of the security services, targeting a journalist, who was clearly identifiable by his equipment as a member of the press,” NUSOJ secretary general Omar Faruk Osman said.” This attack in broad daylight is all the more disturbing because there was no active combat at the time it happened to the journalist, who only carried a TV camera and did not pose any threat to anyone.”

RSF supports this complaint and joins NUSOJ in calling for the Criminal Investigation Department to take charge of this case. The decision to close the investigation and release the two police officers constitutes a flagrant case of impunity. A transparent and independent investigation must be carried out to establish the circumstances of the shooting and identify those responsible.

Hostile climate for national and international media in Somalia

Recurring acts of violence against journalists, which are growing in intensity, testify to the hostility of the climate for the media in Somalia. The most dangerous parts of the country are Puntland, an autonomous region in the northeast, and Somaliland, a self-proclaimed independent republic in the northwest.

Fourteen journalists were the targets of a wave of arrests in Somaliland in April 2022 and surreal, trumped-up charges were brought against three of them. The international media are also often targeted. Four days after Somaliland’s government banned BBC Somali service broadcasts on 19 July, police raided the BBC bureau in Somaliland’s capital, Hargeisa, and arrested several of its journalists, including the bureau chief.

Somalia is ranked 140th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2022 World Press Freedom Index.

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Somali journalists who covered prison riots sentenced to 16 months in prison

Marianna Tzabiras — Tue, 31 May 2022 01:30:10 +0000

This statement was originally published on cpj.org on 23 May 2022.

In response to news reports and statements from local rights groups that the Hargeisa Regional Court in the breakaway region of Somaliland sentenced journalists Mohamed Abdi Ilig and Abdijabar Mohamed Hussein to 16 months’ imprisonment for subversion and false news on Monday, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement condemning the verdict:

“Mohamed Abdi Ilig and Abdijabar Mohamed Hussein should never have been arrested for simply covering a breaking news story in real time, and we are deeply disappointed by the convictions and harsh sentences handed down to them,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator. “Appealing these spurious convictions through Somaliland’s flawed justice system would be unjust, lengthy, and uncertain. Time is of the essence for these two innocent journalists, one of whom is seriously ill. Authorities must not further undermine Somaliland’s already precarious press freedom environment and should ensure the release of the journalists immediately, without condition.”

Mohamed, a reporter and chairperson of MM Somali TV, Abdirahman Ali Khalif, a reporter for Gobonimo TV, and Abdijabar, a reporter for Horn Cable TV, were among 18 journalists arrested on April 13 in connection to their coverage of a fight between inmates and guards at the Hargeisa Central Prison in the region’s capital, as CPJ documented at the time. The majority of the journalists were eventually released, according to a statement by the Mogadishu-based press rights organization, the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS). Mohamed is seriously ill and his condition worsened while in jail, according to Yasmin Omar Mohamoud, chair of the local advocacy group Human Rights Centre Somaliland, CPJ was not able to obtain details of his medical condition.

Mohamed, Abdijabar, and Abdirahman were charged under Articles 215 and 328 of the penal code relating to “subversive or anti-national propaganda” or publishing false news, according to Human Rights Centre Somaliland and a joint statement by SJS and the Somali Media Association (SOMA). The pair were sentenced in a “hasty” hearing that took place “without the knowledge of the defense lawyers and family members of the defendants,” according to the joint SJS and SOMA statement. The court acquitted Abdirahman.

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RSF calls on Somalia’s new president to prioritise journalists’ safety

Marianna Tzabiras — Mon, 23 May 2022 22:34:01 +0000

This statement was originally published on rsf.org on 16 May 2022.

Somalia’s new president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud – elected on Sunday 15 May by 54 senators and 275 lower house members from among 39 candidates – must make journalists’ safety a priority in a country where political violence and corruption have long prevailed over press freedom, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

The long battle over who is to govern this Horn of Africa country with 16 million inhabitants for the next five years ended with the election of a man who was already president from 2012 to 2017. It is the first time a Somali president has been given a second term.

More than 30 journalists were killed during Mohamud’s first term, which was especially oppressive and violent for media personnel. His government was responsible for the draconian 2016 media law and worked to undermine media rights activists.

RSF calls on the newly elected president to lose no time in decreeing a moratorium on arrests of journalists, freeing detained journalists, and repealing legislation that restricts press freedom, including the 1964 penal code, which hampers the media’s pursuit of truth.

“In one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalism, where reporters are caught between the hammer of Al-Shabaab, who kill them with complete impunity, and the anvil of the security forces, who detain them arbitrarily without hesitation, the new president will have to take strong measures at once to change this bleak picture,” said Arnaud Froger, the head of RSF’s Africa desk. “After a first term that was very oppressive for journalists, he will have to show the world he is able to move the red lines regarding journalists’ safety and the protection of press freedom.”

Mohamud succeeds Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, whose presidency was marked by some unprecedented measures, including the appointment of a special prosecutor to take charge of investigating murders of journalists, and the conviction of a police officer in absentia for a journalist’s death. But no major press freedom reforms were completed under Farmaajo.

Yesterday’s election ends a period of uncertainty in which journalists were targeted by the security forces. The victims included Abdiaziz Haybe Ibrahim, whose equipment was seized during a police raid on his office while he covered the elections for SBC Somali TV.

Fifteen journalists were rounded up and held for several days in April in connection with their coverage of a prison riot in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, a self-proclaimed independent republic in northwestern Somalia. Three are still unjustly held and are due to appear before a Hargeisa court for the third time on Tuesday 17 May.

Somalia continues to be Africa’s most dangerous country for journalists, with a total of 65 violations against media personnel in 2021 alone, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). They included the murders of Abdiaziz Mohamud Guled and Jamal Farah Adan. Fifty journalists have been killed in Somalia since 2010.

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Somaliland: Local journalist assaulted, then detained days later

Marianna Tzabiras — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 21:44:23 +0000

This statement was originally published on cpj.org on 11 April 2022.

Authorities in the breakaway region of Somaliland should unconditionally release freelance online journalist Abdisalan Ahmed Awad and hold the intelligence officers who harassed and assaulted him and two other journalists responsible, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday.

On the night of March 18, Abdisalan was riding in a car with freelance journalist Ali Mahdi Jibril and privately owned Saab TV reporter Shafic Mohamed Ibrahim in the capital, Hargeisa, when five men allegedly dragged them out of the car and beat Abdisalan and Ali, according to Ali, who spoke with CPJ via messaging app; media reports that quoted Abdisalan and Shafic; and separate statements by the Human Rights Center (HRC), an advocacy group, as well as the Somaliland Journalists Association and the Somali Journalists Syndicate, two press rights organization. Ali said that he and Abdisalan recognized the men as intelligence officers; the HRC statement said the attackers were members of the Somaliland Intelligence Agency. The men fired several shots during the attack, Ali and Shafic said.

The men focused their assault on Abdisalan, who they accused of writing critically about Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi on Facebook, warning the journalist to “leave our president alone,” according to Ali; Shafic, who also spoke to CPJ via messaging app; and the media reports.

Ali told CPJ that on the evening of April 3, intelligence officers in Hargeisa arrested Abdisalan shortly after he broke his fast for Ramadan at a local restaurant. Ali told CPJ he learned of the April 3 arrest after speaking to an eyewitness. Abdisalan remained detained at an undisclosed location, according to Ali and an April 9 joint statement from the Somali Journalists Syndicate and the Somali Media Association, both based in Mogadishu, which cited an unnamed local human rights defender. Abdisalan is believed to have been detained in retaliation for speaking out about the March 18 attack, according to these same sources and another journalist familiar with the case, who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. CPJ was not able to independently verify the details of Abdisalan’s April 3 arrest at the restaurant, or his current whereabouts in detention.

“It is shocking that security agents in Hargeisa are shooting at and beating up journalists whose Facebook posts they do not like. Authorities should be spending their time investigating this attack, and ensuring justice, rather than throwing a journalist behind bars,” said CPJ sub-Saharan Africa representative Muthoki Mumo. “Authorities in Somaliland should unconditionally release Abdisalan Ahmed Awad and investigate the March 18 attack in which intelligence officers shot at three journalists.”

Abdisalan, who is also known by his nickname “Germany,” publishes original reporting, commentary, and shares news from other outlets on his Facebook page, where he has over 220,000 followers. In the days leading up to the March 18 attack, Abdisalan published several posts of his own and shared other outlets’ reports about President Muse Bihi’s recent visit to the United States and the implications of the visit amid Somaliland’s bid for international recognition of its self-declared sovereignty, according to CPJ’s review of this page.

He also published footage of people allegedly protesting the president’s visit and holding the flag of Somalia, of which Mogadishu is the capital and from which Somaliland broke away in 1991, and alleged that a woman seen in a picture with the president, said to be a U.S. government official, was in fact a hotel IT manager. Several reports have been published on the Facebook page since Abdisalan’s arrest; Ali told CPJ that the page had more than one administrator.

Ali and Abdisalan were outspoken about the March 18 attack, including in media interviews, Facebook posts, and by speaking to local civil society and press rights groups.

Ali, who worked as a reporter for a local broadcaster until about a month ago, publishes reporting and commentary on his Facebook page where he has over 76,000 followers, but he told CPJ that he does not believe any of his work precipitated the March 18 attack. However, he added that he is concerned for his safety since Abdisalan’s arrest.

On the night of March 18 in Hargeisa, Abdisalan was riding in a car with Ali and Shafic when two other vehicles ambushed them, according to Ali and those media reports and statements. Ali was driving and told CPJ that the assailants blocked their car from moving forward or backwards.

One shot fired by the assailants went into the vehicle the journalists were driving. Several of the five assailants were kicking and punching Abdisalan all over his body when a second shot went off.

One of the officers also hit Ali on the head with the butt of a pistol and when he ran away, one of the men shot at him. Ali said that the men left the scene of the attack shortly after he escaped. Both Ali and Abdisalan received treatment at a local hospital for minor injuries to their arms and heads.

CPJ’s emails and messages sent via Facebook and Twitter to the office of the Somaliland president, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Information were either unanswered or returned error messages. Phone calls to these ministries either rang without answer or did not connect.

An individual who identified himself as Ministry of Interior official Mohamed Ismail, and who said he was returning one of CPJ’s phone calls, said he would review queries sent via WhatsApp. When CPJ sent those queries on April 7, this individual said he would review the communication as soon as he was at home, but had not responded by publication time.

CPJ phone calls to Somaliland Police Commissioner General Mohamed Adan Saqadhi did not connect, and he did not respond to messages delivered to his WhatsApp. Calls to the head of intelligence Mohamed Salebaan Hasan were unanswered and he did not respond to messages from CPJ requesting comment.

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