The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has condemned the arrests of journalists in Somaliland and Galmudug on Saturday, 22 October 2022, and has called for an end of the sustained campaign of intimidation and censorship against independent journalism.
Farhan Abdi Isse, a reporter for HornCable TV, was arrested by Somaliland police in Gabiley district on Saturday, 22 October 2022 on the orders of the governor of interim regional administration of Gabiley Abdiqani Mohamud Jidhe and executed by Gabiley’s police chief.
Information available indicates that the journalist was arrested for reporting on a meeting by a group of youth and social activists who convened in Gabiley to discuss how Gabiley can be fully upgraded to a region instead of an interim regional administration that is now.
The governor was reportedly infuriated by this youth-led initiative which is seen as a politically organised campaign seeking the determination of Gabiley as a fully-fledged region with legal standing in Somaliland.
On the same day in Galmudug, police arrested photojournalist and videographer Sadaq Saed Nur, a former employee of Galmudug state TV, who is now freelance. Sadaq, who spent the night in Galkayo (southern) police station, for posting on his Facebook page, a report about a fracas that broke out in one of the IDP camps in southern Galkayo, during a visit by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.
Sadaq was taken into custody by armed policemen who accosted him as returned home from work at about 6:15 PM local time. The arresting party reportedly claimed to be executing the direct orders of Galmudug State President Ahmed Abdi Karie “QoorQoor”. The police confiscated Sadaq’s cell phones and subsequently deleted content from his Facebook page. Sadaq was released today at around 2pm but the police warned him “not to report anything that shows Galkayo in a bad light.”
“These are disturbing developments, which illustrate the unrelenting campaign of intimidation against journalists who are being denied to play their role as the society’s messengers. We call for the immediate and unconditional release of Farhan Abdi Isse whose only crime was to be a witness of an event for which he reported on,” said NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman.
“The actions by the police in Gabiley and Galkayo (Southern) are meant to censor and intimidate independent journalism in order to restrict people’s access to information. It is also unfortunate that the name of a person of the stature of a Regional State President should be cited in the illegitimate actions of the police. We therefore call upon Mr. Ahmed Abdi Karie “QoorQoor” to dissociate himself from this arrest and desist from ordering journalists’ arrest for carrying out their journalistic work,” Osman added. – NUSOJ
