11 Apr 2012 | Africa, Index Index, minipost
Two journalists have been detained without charge for over a week. Somaliland authorities arrested Ahmed Ali Farah, a reporter for Royal TV, in the disputed northwest town of Las Anod, in the Sool region, on 31 March. Three days later fellow television reporter Abdisaman Isse was arrested while visiting Farah in prison. Somaliland law forbids detainees from being held without charge for more than 48 hours. Authorities are said to have not disclosed reasons for the journalists’ detention. Somaliland is a self-declared, unrecognised de facto sovereign state internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia.
10 Apr 2012 | Index Index, minipost
Unidentified gunmen have brutally murdered a Somalian radio journalist. Mahad Salad Aden, a well known and well respected journalist for Shabelle Media Network, was murdered on 5 April at around 5.30pm by a group of masked men. This attack is the fourth of its kind against journalists affiliated with the Shabelle Media Network, and Adan is the fourth journalist to be killed in Somalia this year. Shabelle Media believe that such attacks are carried out by “certain groups across the warring factions in Somalia” in an attempt to force the network to serve their political objectives.
6 Mar 2012 | Africa, Index Index, minipost
A Somalian journalist has been shot dead by gunmen. Ali Ahmed Abdi who worked for a Somali news website was shot in the head several times by masked men as he walked home on Sunday evening in the northern town of Galkayo. Until recently, Abdi had been working for the privately owned Galkayo Radio. Abdi is the third Somalian journalist to be killed this year. On Saturday, a media director in Puntland was arrested and detained following the closure of radio station Radio Voice of Peace. Officials did not give motive for Ali’s arrest, nor the shutting down of the radio station.
2 Mar 2012 | Africa, Index Index, minipost
A radio journalist has been shot dead by two unidentified men in Somalia. Abukar Hassan Mohamoud, nicknamed Kadaf, was the manager of Mogadishu-based radio Somaliweyn. Mohamoud was shot five times in the head and chest at his home in Mogadishu on 28 February. Mohamoud, who had been trying to relaunch the radio station which had been shut down by an extremist group in May 2010, died from his injuries in hospital soon after the attack.
