On May 23, 2025, five police officers in Somalia’s north-central city of Galkayo arrested journalist Ali Maalin Nur over his reporting on lorry drivers’ protests, according to the Somali Journalists Syndicate and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ after his release.
The northern half of Galkayo is part of Puntland and the southern half is in Galmudug — two of the six federal states that make up Somalia.
Ali, who publishes news on his Facebook page, which has about 3,900 followers, told CPJ that he was arrested by officers from the Galmudug administration, who took him in an unmarked vehicle to the city’s main police station.
Ali said a police investigator told him the following day that regional authorities had ordered his arrest for filming at a military checkpoint without authorization — an allegation he denied.
Ali told CPJ he was ordered to take down his video report about nearly 100 lorries stranded on the outskirts of south Galkayo because their drivers refused to pay an increased tax of $1,100, up from $900, per trip. Several interviewees called on Galmudug authorities to review the measure and address their concerns.
On May 24, 2025, Ali was released, following interventions by his relatives and local journalists, after deleting the video.
CPJ did not receive responses to emailed requests for comment sent to the president’s office and the ministry of internal security of Galmudug State.