Somalia

(CJFE/IFEX) – The following is a CJFE press release: Canadian Journalists for Free Expression Saddened by Murders of Somali Journalists (Toronto, August 13, 2007) CJFE was greatly saddened to hear of the murders of Somali journalists Ali Sharmarke and Mahad Ahmed Elmi on August 11. Ali Sharmarke was one of the three founders of the […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has hailed the 19 July 2007 release of Abdirahman Mohammed Habane of “Jamhuuriya”, a daily based in Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway state of Somaliland. He had been held since 12 July because of a controversial article about the swearing-in of a traditional leader. He was freed after the […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has condemned the detention of Abdirahman Mohammed Habane of “Jamhuuriya”, a daily newspaper based in Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway state of Somaliland. He has been held since 12 July 2007. “The hostility of the Somaliland authorities towards journalists must stop,” the press freedom organisation said. “Habane is the […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 9 July 2007 CPJ press release: Troops raid prominent Somali broadcaster four times New York, July 9, 2007 – A prominent broadcaster covering public reaction to a large-scale government security crackdown in the commercial district of the capital, Mogadishu, was raided four times over the weekend by Somali government […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 29 June 2007 CPJ press release: SOMALIA: Puntland newspaper damaged in arson attack New York, June 29, 2007 – Three rooms in the headquarters of Shacab, an independent newspaper in northeast Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland, were damaged Wednesday night after assailants threw gasoline-fueled bombs, according to local news […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders is relieved to learn that reporter Abdirahman Musse Omar of the privately-owned television station SLTV was released on 1 July 2007 after appearing before a court in Hargeisa, the capital of the northern breakaway territory of Somaliland. The authorities are not pressing any charges against Omar, who was arrested on […]

(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is a 28 June 2007 IFJ media release: IFJ Calls on Somalia to Bring Those Responsible for Newspaper Firebombing to Justice The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on authorities for a full and prompt investigation into a firebomb attack on the Shacab newspaper office in the semi-autonomous region of […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has condemned the arbitrary behaviour of mayor Hussein Mohamoud Ji’ir of Hargeisa, the capital of the northern breakaway territory of Somaliland, who on 28 June 2007 slapped journalist Abdirahman Musse Omar several times in the face and then had him arrested. “The only explanation for Omar’s continuing detention is abuse […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has voiced satisfaction at the transitional federal government’s decision to allow three privately-owned radio stations – HornAfrik, Shabelle and Quran Karim (Holy Koran) – to resume broadcasting on 10 June 2007, four days after it ordered them to suspend operations. “This decision was to be expected, as the high-handed fashion […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 7 June 2007 CPJ press release: Somali government cracks down on media over security coverage New York, June 7, 2007 – Three private broadcasters covering a government security crackdown in the aftermath of Sunday’s deadly suicide bombing of the residence of the Somali prime minister in the capital, Mogadishu, […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders called on the transitional federal government to publicly explain the closure of three privately-owned radio stations on 6 June 2007 in Mogadishu for “supporting terrorism” and urged the authorities to take great care with the accusation made against one of the stations, HornAfrik, that it was storing firearms. “The government’s […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Two Radio Jowhar reporters were killed on 15 May 2007 when gunmen ambushed the convoy of the governor of the central province Middle Shabelle, in which they were travelling, Reporters Without Borders has learned from its local partner organisation, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). “Two journalists have once again fallen victim […]

(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 10 May 2007 ARTICLE 19 press release: Draft Media Law of Somalia Must Be Revised to meet International Standards ARTICLE 19: the Global Campaign for Free Expression is urging a revision of the Draft Media Law of Somalia, according to Notes on the Draft released today. Although the […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: In Puntland, radio contributor shot during army raid New York, May 9, 2007 – The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the death on Saturday of Mohammed Abdullahi Khalif, a contributor to the private radio station Voice of Peace in Somalia’s northeastern, semi-autonomous region of Puntland. Khalif […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders and its partner organisation in Somalia, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), are outraged by the recent wave of violence in Mogadishu and the arbitrary shelling and shooting of civilians, including journalists and news media personnel. On 19 April 2007 four shells hit the television studio and the newsroom […]

(RSF/IFEX) – A video published on an Ethiopian pro-government website on 13 April 2007 includes footage of two Eritrean state TV journalists, cameraman Tesfalidet Kidane Tesfazghi and reporter Saleh Idris Gama, who have been held in secret since their December 2006 arrest in Somalia. “We are certain of their identity and of the fact that […]