On June 6, 2025, Mohamed Abdiaziz Warsame, director of the community station Radio Galkayo, was arrested by armed police officers at the venue of a planned protest, according to the Somali Journalists Syndicate and the journalist, who spoke to CPJ after his release.
Earlier that day, police had detained two youth activists and a camera operator at Awale Stadium in Somalia’s north-central city of Galkayo, where activists planned a peaceful protest calling for improved development in the northern part of the city.
The northern half of Galkayo is part of Puntland and the southern half is in Galmudug, another of Somalia’s six federal states.
Mohamed told CPJ that officers at North Galkayo’s central police station accused him of threatening public security, inciting unrest, and collaborating with Somalia’s federal government, allegations the journalist denied.
The semi-autonomous state of Puntland withdrew recognition from Somalia’s federal government in 2024 and announced it would govern itself independently because its leaders were opposed to constitutional amendments replacing clan-based voting with universal suffrage.
The arrests followed weeks of coverage by Radio Galkayo of a youth-led campaign demanding accountability from local authorities over the poor state of the city’s public infrastructure. The station provided a platform for activists to voice their grievances, drawing the attention of Puntland officials.
In early June, police visited Radio Galkayo and requested registration documents from Mohamed. He told CPJ that he complied but viewed the move as part of broader pressure on the station.
On June 7, 2025, the four detainees were released, without charge, after clan elders met with Puntland ministers in Galkayo, urging the release of those detained as the activists posed no threat to security, Mohamed told CPJ.
Since then, Mohamed said, he and Radio Galkayo have faced restrictions in accessing official Puntland events, without any formal explanation.
CPJ did not receive responses to an email requesting comment from the Puntland ministry of information and queries sent via messaging app to the region’s information minister Farhan Ali Hersi, attorney general Ahmed Mohamed Yusuf, and presidential spokesperson Jama Deperani.