Witnesses say the journalists were not questioned and no arrest warrants were presented when they were taken.
(NUSOJ/IFEX) – On 25 May 2010 at around 2:00 p.m., the insurgent group Hisbul Islam arrested three Mogadishu-based radio journalists in the town of Afgoye, approx. 30 km south of the capital. The arrests are the latest in a series of violations against the press.
Militias loyal to Hisbul Islam arrested Sheekh Adow Amiin, a correspondent for Simba Radio, Ahmed Yusuf Idaajaa, a correspondent for Radio Holy Quran (IQK), and Mohamed Hussein Osman, a correspondent for Radio Xurma, while they were carrying out their respective reporting duties.
Witnesses say the journalists were not questioned and no arrest warrants were presented when they were taken. Hisbul Islam has not commented on the arrests. The three journalists remain in jail.
In another incident, Al-Shabab insurgents attacked Radio Somaliweyn’s offices in Mogadishu’s Boondheere neighborhood on 21 May at around 9:00 a.m, taking all the station’s equipment, amid heavy fighting in the neighborhood.
Attacks on the press have dramatically increased recently in the volatile capital of Mogadishu and the southern regions of the country, where the rival insurgent groups Al-Shabab and Hisbul Islam are vying for control.
