Mission Journal: Fewer arrests but fear still lingers for Somaliland's press
April 17, 2015 4:18 PM ET
Conditions for the press in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland may, on the surface, appear to be improving. But without a functioning media law to lend protection, and pending legislative elections, journalists remain wary of state harassment....
Somaliland authorities shut down independent papers
April 8, 2014 2:02 PM ET
Nairobi, April 8, 2014--Police in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland on Thursday raided the Hargeisa offices of the independent Somali-language paper Haatuf and its sister English-language weekly, Somaliland Times, and suspended them indefinitely, according to local journalists and news...
Police raid and shut down paper in Somaliland
December 16, 2013 2:49 PM ET
Nairobi, December 16, 2013--Police in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland on December 13 raided the Hargeisa offices of the critical independent daily Hubaal, arrested two staff members, and ordered the publication to be shut down, according to news reports. This...
Journalists jailed for covering protest in Somaliland
December 12, 2013 1:39 PM ET
Police arrested four journalists on December 3, 2013, and detained them for nearly a week for covering a peaceful protest in the capital of the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland, according to local journalists and human rights organizations....
Q&A: Hubaal's editor talks about press in Somaliland
August 28, 2013 11:26 AM ET
Hubaal, Somaliland's critical and much-beleaguered daily newspaper, is back on newsstands after a presidential pardon last week. The paper was shuttered on orders of the attorney general in June without explanation. In April, two gunmen, subsequently identified by authorities...
A bid to rid Africa of criminal defamation, sedition laws
July 12, 2013 3:48 PM ET
The African Union's special rapporteur on freedom of expression and access to information, Commissioner Pansy Tlakula, has launched an auspicious initiative in East Africa to counter criminal defamation and sedition laws. Since independence, authorities and business interests in the East...
In Somaliland, Hubaal journalists sentenced to jail
July 3, 2013 2:19 PM ET
Nairobi, July 3, 2013--A court in the capital of the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland today convicted the manager and editor of the independent daily Hubaal of defamation and sentenced them to prison. Hubaal's editor, Hussein Hassan Abdullahi, received two...
Independent daily suspended indefinitely in Somaliland
June 12, 2013 1:53 PM ET
Nairobi, June 12, 2013--The acting attorney general in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland should withdraw his request to suspend the independent daily Hubaal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court ruled on Tuesday that the paper had...
Somaliland official says media owner attacked by police
April 30, 2013 5:42 PM ET
New York, April 30, 2013--A senior administration official in Somaliland has said that police officers were the perpetrators of an April 24 attack on the owner of a media network, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists...