(RSF/IFEX) – According to information made available by RSF on 28 May 1998, on 25 May, Hassan Said Yousuf, chief editor of the daily newspaper “Jamhuria”, was arrested by police for “insulting important personalities, circulation of false information and criticising the leaders of the republic.” The journalist is detained at the Hargiesa central prison. Hassan […]
(RSF/IFEX) – According to information made available by RSF on 28 May 1998,
on 25 May, Hassan Said Yousuf, chief editor of the daily newspaper
“Jamhuria”, was arrested by police for “insulting important personalities,
circulation of false information and criticising the leaders of the
republic.” The journalist is detained at the Hargiesa
central prison. Hassan Said Yousuf was first briefly detained on 23 May in
the morning and was later arrested in the afternoon. He was granted bail at
that time, but was arrested again two days later.
Hassan Said Yousuf’s arrest is believed to be related to several articles
published in June, July and September 1997, and on 2 February, 1 and 31
March 1998. Those articles included discussions of the bad terms that exist
between the army brigades and the government; reports on the presence of a
Rift Valley disease that was later denied; the amputations of 33 people
ordered by an Islamic court in the town of Buro; and insults towards the
Prosecutor General and members of the justice system in Somaliland.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
United Nations Commission on Human Rights considers that “detention, as
punishment for the peaceful expression of an opinion, is one of the most
reprehensible ways to enjoin silence and, as a consequence, a grave
violation of human rights”
Hassan
Said Yousuf
Appeals To
Mr. Mohamed Ibrahim Egal
President of the Republic of Somaliland
State House of Somaliland
Fax: +252 213 3414
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
