Police accuse Mohamed Abdi Hassan and Hassan Omar Hassan of "spreading false news”, a standard charge by the authorities for the publication of news they do not like.
(NUSOJ/IFEX) – 21 February 2012 – The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has condemned the continued arrests and intimidations of journalists in Somaliland.
Somaliland authorities in Hargeisa arrested and detained two more journalists, adding to the number of journalists that have been arrested and detained by the local authorities in recent weeks.
Mohamed Abdi Hassan, nicknamed “Boosh”, who reports for both Royal TV and the online publication Ramaas news, and Hassan Omar Hassan, who is a reporter with the independent newspaper Ogaal, were arrested on 20 February in Hargeisa by Somaliland police.
Police accuse the journalists of “spreading false news”, a standard charge by the authorities for the publication of news they do not like.
“We demand that the authorities in Somaliland stop any further intimidation and arrests of journalists under any guise,” said NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman. “We call for the immediate release of Mohamed Abdi Hassan and Hassan Omar Hassan”.
