Radio Simba staffer shot outside his studio in Somalia
New York, August 5, 2011–The logistics manager and driver for Radio Simba, Farah Hassan Sahal, died from bullet wounds early Thursday evening just outside the station’s compound in the restive Bakara Market in the capital, Mogadishu, Radio Simba Director Abdullahi Ali Farah told CPJ. Hassan was helping the station move damaged radio equipment when a…
Puntland frees jailed Somali journalist
New York, August 1, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the decision by authorities in Puntland, Somalia’s northeastern semiautonomous region, to set free reporter Faysal Mohamed Hassan on Sunday. Mohamed, who wrote for the private news site Hiiraan Online, was serving a prison sentence over a story claiming that two murdered men belonged to Puntland’s…
Puntland authorities arrest online journalist
New York, June 30, 2011–Police arrested Faysal Mohamed, at left, a reporter for the Hiiraan Online website Wednesday morning in the port town of Bossasso in the semi-autonomous republic of Puntland, local journalists told CPJ. No official charges have been brought against him, although the deputy commander of the Bossasso District Police told journalists that…
The Internet in East Africa: An aid or a weapon?
Frank Nyakairu has seen it all. A veteran war reporter, he has covered the horrors of northern Uganda and Somalia, among others places. And throughout this time of rich but often appalling experiences, he has also seen the auspicious–and sometimes terrifying–impact the Internet has had on East African reporters. Nyakairu spoke at a recent workshop held…
Somali journalists arrested for covering protests
New York, June 14, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a growing number of detentions by the Somali government’s security forces against journalists covering weeklong protests in the KM4 area of the capital, Mogadishu. On Monday morning, security agents arrested 20-year-old reporter Mohamed Amin, of the privately owned Radio Kulmiye. He had been covering ongoing…
Exiled Somali journalists rally around wounded colleague
Hassan Mohamed, nicknamed “Jaeyl” by his colleagues, used to be a jack-of-all-trades for Somalia’s first independent broadcaster, HornAfrik. He was a journalist, a producer, and a librarian. He was even a dramatist. His most powerful professional role was keeping HornAfrik running when most senior staff members fled the country, fearing for their lives.