Somalia / Africa

  

Somaliland government increases attacks on press

New York, July 22, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalist condemns the government’s growing crackdown on the independent press in the northern breakaway republic of Somaliland as September presidential elections near. 

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Journalist beaten in Puntland courtroom

New York, July 17, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the attack on reporter Aweys Sheikh Nur on Wednesday by security guards during a court session in Bosaso, in Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia. 

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Sixth Somali journalist killed this year

New York, July 6, 2009–The Committee to Protect journalists is saddened by the death of Radio IQK journalist Mohamud Mohamed Yusuf who was shot twice in the stomach on Saturday in the capital, Mogadishu. Yusuf, commonly known as “Ninile,” was hit by stray bullets after leaving the station in Afarta Jardin, northern Mogadishu, local journalists…

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Special Report: Journalists in Exile 2009

Sri Lankan journalists flee under severe pressure in the past year. Iraq and Somalia, two deadly countries for the press, also rank high in numbers of journalists forced into exile. Hundreds of journalists have been driven into exile this decade. By Karen Phillips

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Canada, Australia should step up efforts to free captives

New York, June 11, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists urges the Canadian and Australian governments to work for the immediate release of two freelance journalists who have been held captive in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, since August.

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The funeral of Mukhtar Mohamed Hirabe. (NUSOJ)

Somali journalists leave profession in fear as another dies

Somali journalists held an emotional press conference in Mogadishu today at the Sahafi Hotel after Sunday’s fatal shooting of the former director of Shabelle Media Network. (Sahafi means “journalist” in Arabic.) Roughly 15 journalists from different news outlets announced they were suspending their work because of security concerns. “We can no longer operate independently and…

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Good discussions in Bonn; murder in Mogadishu

Journalism conferences discussing global trends often inflate the real but intermittent risks faced by foreign correspondents from wealthier nations who travel to and report from less stable regions of the world. They do so at the expense of downplaying if not plain ignoring the much greater risks faced by local journalists who live in such…

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Mukhtar Mohamed Hirabe was killed on Sunday. (NUSOJ)

Fifth Somali journalist killed this year

New York, June 8, 2009–Following the attack by unidentified gunmen on two staff members of Radio Shabelle on Sunday that left one dead and one injured, the Committee to Protect Journalists called today for all sides in the ongoing conflict to allow journalists to carry out their work without fear of retribution.

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Fifth Somali journalist killed this year

Following news that Radio Shabelle Director Mukhtar Mohamed Hirabe was killed and News Editor Ahmed Omar Hashi seriously injured today by gunmen in Somalia’s volatile capital, Mogadishu, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued this statement…

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Kidnapped journalists in Somalia reportedly ill

New York, May 26, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists is very concerned about the well-being of two captive journalists, a Canadian and an Australian, who urged their respective governments to work harder for their release in a phone call with a reporter on Sunday. Both journalists said they were sick and being held in harsh…

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