Martin Adler

The killing of a Swedish photojournalist at a pro-government rally in Mogadishu underscored the dangers faced by journalists covering renewed political turmoil in Somalia, which has had no effective central administration since the fall of dictator Siad Barre in 1991.

Against a background of military conflict between the U.N.-backed transitional government and the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), journalists faced attacks, imprisonments, and censorship so pervasive that the National Union of Somali Journalists described 2006 as “the most dangerous year for press freedom for more than a decade.” Many attacks on journalists went unreported for fear of reprisal, according to the union, also known as NUSOJ. Both sides in the conflict abused press freedom as tensions escalated, driving the media to censor itself. The year was marked by dramatic shifts in the balance of power, with the ICU seizing the capital, Mogadishu, and a large swath of the south in early June only to be routed in late December when Ethiopia’s powerful military launched an all-out offensive in support of the transitional government.

Majority are murdered; worldwide death toll rises

New York, August 4, 2006—Unidentified gunmen today ambushed leaders of the National Union of Somali Journalists on the road from Baidoa to Mogadishu, fatally shooting their driver, Madey Garas, according to NUSOJ Secretary-General Omar Faruk Osman. Another NUSOJ official who was in the car, Fahad Mohammed Abukar, was injured in the attack.

“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Madey Garas, and we call for his killers to be brought to justice,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said.

New York, June 23, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply shocked by the killing of award-winning Swedish journalist and photographer Martin Adler, who was shot by an unidentified gunman while filming a demonstration in the Somali capital Mogadishu today. Adler, a long-time contributor to Britain’s Channel 4 News, was freelancing for several newspapers including the Swedish daily Aftonbladet.

In recent years, it had become common for people who care about Afghanistan to worry about its growing invisibility. The all-encompassing burqa gown, which the ruling Taliban forced women to wear, seemed a metaphor for the militia's efforts to hide Afghanistan's people and problems from the world. Visits by foreign correspondents were restricted; taking pictures was banned. In March, authorities expelled the only Western correspondent resident in Taliban-held territory, Kate Clark of the BBC, because of her reporting on the militia's destruction of ancient Buddhist statues in Bamiyan.

New York, November 27, 2001—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague Ulf Strömberg, a cameraman for the Swedish channel TV4. He was murdered early this morning during a robbery at the house in Taloqan where he and several other journalists were staying.

At around 2 a.m. Tuesday morning, armed gunmen broke into the house and entered the room where two journalists from the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet were sleeping. The intruders demanded money, which they were given, and also stole equipment including cameras, computers, and a satellite phone, according to Aftonbladet.

Strömberg, a cameraman for the Swedish channel TV4, was murdered in the early morning during a robbery at the house in Taloqan where he and several other journalists were staying.

At around 2 a.m., armed gunmen broke into the house and entered the room where two journalists from the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet were sleeping. The intruders demanded money, which they were given, and also stole equipment including cameras, computers, and a satellite phone, according to Aftonbladet.

The robbers threatened to kill the two journalists-Martin Adler, a photographer, and Bo Liden, a correspondent-but left the room after an Afghan translator intervened on their behalf, according to a Reuters report. The gunmen then proceeded to the room Strömberg was sharing with his TV4 colleague Rolf Porseryd, a correspondent. Porseryd told reporters that Strömberg went to the door and slammed it shut when he saw the gunmen, who fired several shots before fleeing.

Strömberg, 42, was apparently hit in the chest by a bullet fired through the door. Though colleagues rushed him to a local hospital, his wounds were fatal.