Another journalist arrested in Somalia as press crackdown intensifies
Stockholm, July 31 (Hibya) - The arrest of a journalist for reporting on drug use in the Somali army is the latest incident in a marked crackdown on critical reporting in the country, which has had a “chilling” effect on Somali media, rights advocates said.
Ali Nur Salaad was detained last week and charged with “immorality, false reporting and insulting the armed forces” after posting a now-deleted video suggesting that soldiers were vulnerable to attacks by al-Shabaab militants due to the widespread use of the traditional drug khat.
Angela Quintal, Head of the Africa Program at the Committee to Protect Journalists, called on Somali authorities to drop the case and “allow journalists to report and comment on public affairs freely.” “Somalia must end the practice of harassing and arbitrarily detaining journalists,” she said.
Last month, the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), a trade union and press freedom group, criticized threats and charges against another journalist, Mohamed Salah, for providing “false and misleading information” while reporting on the suspension of aid agencies' licenses by Somalia's Puntland state.
Said Abdullahi Kulmiye was also arrested in July for reporting on incidents in which police and armed men demanded bribes at checkpoints. A state media employee, Abdulkadir Isse, was prevented from reporting after publishing an article investigating corruption and abuse of power involving a government minister.
In May, journalists Sharma'arke Abdi Mahdi and Abdinur Hayi Hashi said they were shot by four police officers in Dhobley town, where they were reporting on the local government's lack of support for internally displaced people.
Salaad was released on bail on Saturday after five days in custody. SJS Secretary General Abdalla Ahmed Mumin said no trial date has yet been set.
Mumin, who himself was detained for two months in 2023 for opposing laws that the SJS believed would restrict freedom of expression, said detention and lengthy trials hindered all journalists.
Albania News Agency