Islamist militia closes private radio station
New York, September 29, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm today at the closure by Islamist militiamen of a radio station in southern Somalia and the questioning of three journalists. The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) said two other journalists had gone into hiding. The militias closed HornAfrik Radio, a prominent private radio…
ICU authorities censor radio station, detain journalist
New York, September 11, 2006—Islamist authorities detained a journalist for two days and shut an independent radio station for a similar period in separate incidents this weekend, according to news reports and the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). In Beledweyne, a western town controlled by the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), authorities jailed journalist Osman…
Journalists’ driver killed in ambush
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…
Radio correspondent detained
July 13, 2006 Abdikarim Omar Moallim, Radio Banadir HARASSED, CENSORED Moallim, a correspondent in Jowhar for private station Radio Banadir, was briefly detained by the Islamist-controlled administration of the region and banned from continuing to work for the station, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). Moallim told NUSOJ that the ban stemmed…
African leaders urged to defend press freedom
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists urges you as chairman of the African Union to discuss with your fellow heads of state and government at your summit in the Gambian capital, Banjul, from July 1, the need to defend press freedom on the continent.
Online reporter arrested
June 26, 2006 Posted: July 28, 2006 Hussein Yasin Godegode, idamaale.com HARASSED Police in the northeastern region of Puntland arrested online journalist Godegode in the city of Galkayo after he wrote critical reports about the regional authorities there, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) and another CPJ source. Godegode works for idamaale.com,…
CPJ condemns brutal murder of Swedish photographer
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…
Radio station closed, journalists harassed
New York, June 19, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the closure of a radio station in Somalia, and the brief detention by militiamen of two of its journalists, over a report of an alleged Ethiopian incursion. Somalia’s weakened transitional government, which is based in Baidoa, 155 miles (250 kilometers) northwest of the…
Newspaper editor detained overnight for critical article
June 18, 200 Posted: June 20, 2006 Mohammed Abdi Urad, Jamhuuriya HARASSED Urad, an editor at the Somali-language daily Jamhuuriya in the self-declared northern republic of Somaliland, was arrested on the orders of the High Court after the paper published an article criticizing local lawmakers. Urad was held overnight in Somaliland’s capital, Hargeisa, before being…
Radio journalist assaulted twice by militias
June 1, 2006 Posted August 1, 2006 Maryan Mohamud Qalanjo, Radio Shabelle ATTACKED, HARASSED, CENSORED Qalanjo, a reporter for the private, Mogadishu-based station Radio Shabelle, was twice assaulted by militias loyal to the Rahanweyn Resistance Army in the city of Baidoa, where the weak transitional government is based, according to the National Union of Somali…