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 charges after nearly five months of unjust detention, and we welcome his freedom,” said CPJ sub-Saharan Africa Representative Muthoki Mumo. “Authorities should now provide guarantees that Mohamed can live and practice journalism free from state harassment.”
Mohamed, also known as Abuuja, was detained on March 7 by Somalia’s national intelligence agency and held without contact with his family after officials accused him of murder and being a member of Al-Shabaab, according to CPJ’s reporting. Mohamed, an editor with the privately owned Radio Hiigsi, was tried in a military court on August 3, and today the military court acquitted him of all charges, according to his lawyer, Dahir Mohamed Ali, and Somali Journalists Syndicate secretary general Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, both of whom spoke to CPJ via messaging application, and news reports.