(RSF/IFEX) – In a 22 March 2000 letter to the chairman of the Hariryale Islamic court in Mogadishu, Shiekh Assan Aynte, RSF called for the release of Mohamed Salad Ali (known under the pen-name of Sadik), a journalist with the private daily “Qaran”. RSF reminded the chairman that international human rights organisations believe that prison […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a 22 March 2000 letter to the chairman of the Hariryale Islamic court in Mogadishu, Shiekh Assan Aynte, RSF called for the release of Mohamed Salad Ali (known under the pen-name of Sadik), a journalist with the private daily “Qaran”. RSF reminded the chairman that international human rights organisations believe that prison sentences for press crimes are disproportionate to the harm suffered by the victims. In a 14 July 1992 document, the United Nations Commission of Human Rights stressed that “detention as punishment for the expression of an opinion is one of the most reprehensible means to enjoin silence, and as such constitutes a serious violation of human rights”. “That is why nowadays no democratic state passes prison sentences in cases involving the media”, added Robert Ménard, RSF’s secretary general.
According to the information collected by RSF, on 14 March, Salad Ali was arrested and taken to the Hariryale Islamic court jail in south Mogadishu. The arrest was in connection with an article published on the same day, in which prominent people denounced businessmen who were illegally trading in charcoal to the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries. The article accused them of deforesting Somalia.
