On June 13, 2026, freelance journalist Mohamed Abdinasir Hussein, also known as Mohamed Nagashe, was arrested in Somalia's northeastern city of Qardho by police after reporting on insecurity in the city, according to another Somali reporter, Mohamoud Nadif Shire, and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ following his release.
Qardho is in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland, one of Somalia’s six federal states.
Mohamed, who publishes news on his Facebook page, told CPJ that he was in a restaurant when three uniformed officers ordered him into a marked police vehicle and took him to Qardho Police Station.
After about one hour, Mohamed was transferred to Qardho Central Prison and detained without charge or being brought before a court, he told CPJ. At the prison, district administration officials and security personnel accused Mohamed of spreading false information about Qardho and said they intended to take legal action against him, the journalist said.
Other journalists and Mohamed's family advocated with authorities for his release.
After four nights in Qardho Central Prison, Mohamed was transferred back to Qardho Police Station for a final night before he was released on June 18, 2026. Mohamed told CPJ that authorities instructed him to refrain from publishing what they described as negative reports about Qardho.
CPJ did not receive responses to requests for comment sent via email to Puntland’s ministry of information and via messaging app to information minister Farhan Ali Hersi, attorney general Ahmed Mohamed Yusuf, and presidential spokesperson Jama Deperani.