On August 5, 2025, freelance journalist Hassan Ahmed Mohamed, also known as Hassan Qasaaro, was arrested by Galmudug police in the town of Adado, central Somalia, after reporting on his Facebook page that an eight-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered, according to the Somali Journalists Syndicate and Hassan, who spoke to CPJ.
Galmudug is one of Somalia’s six federal states.
Hassan told CPJ that four armed police officers came to his home in a vehicle and arrested him. The officers said his reporting on the young girl had brought shame upon the entire Galmudug administration.
He was detained at Adado Central Police Station, where officers demanded that he disclose his sources. Hassan explained that he had confirmed the girl’s cause of death with Adado’s main hospital and sought comment from local police before publishing the story.
Journalist Haashim Omar Hassan, who also reported on the same incident, was detained at the same time.
Both journalists were released without charge on the evening of August 5, following advocacy by other local journalists.
CPJ did not receive responses to emailed requests for comment sent to the president’s office, police chief, and the ministry of interior of Galmudug State.