Journalist bodies condemn unlawful detention of eleven Somali reporters
Reports indicate that they were held without formal charges and threatened by the security agents into deleting all recorded footage they had gathered, including audio from citizens they had interviewed.
Journalist bodies in Somalia have condemned the unlawful detention of 11 journalists by government operatives on Saturday while they were collecting public views on the re-engagement of opposition figures in Somalia's national affairs.
The eleven journalists, drawn from five major Somali news outlets, were apprehended along the Maka Al-Murama Road on Saturday by officers from the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA).
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Reports indicate that they were held without formal charges and threatened by the security agents into deleting all recorded footage they had gathered, including audio from citizens they had interviewed.
They are Ja'far Abdirisaq Mohamed, Shukri Hashi Abdi, Ayanle Abdinur Ali and Sundus Ali Botan from Goobjoog Media Group, Ismail Yabarow Hassan and Mohamed Adan Hassan from Somali Cable TV and Abdiasis Abdulqadir Salah and Abdiasis Yusuf So'dal from Shabelle Media Network.
Also included are Abdirahman Abdulle Roble and Hassan Ahmed Taakow from SYL TV and Abdirahman Ahmed Hassan from Five TV.
In a statement, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) stated that the arrests amount to a deliberate act of censorship and violate both the rights of journalists and the public's right to access diverse perspectives on important political matters.
The journalist's body added that NISA failed to provide a valid reason for detaining the journalists.
"Immediately upon learning of the arrests, NUSOJ officials contacted senior NISA leadership to seek clarification regarding the motives behind this interference. The union firmly demanded an immediate end to such practices and emphasised that no security agency is entitled to operate outside the law or ignore constitutional protections," the union said in a statement seen by the Eastleigh Voice.
The Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) has also condemned the incident, describing it as a blatant assault on press freedom and the public's right to access and disseminate information.
"These attacks on media workers are unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms. As we have said, these violations will not end until the perpetrators are held accountable," said SJS Secretary General, Abdalle Mumin.
Abdale emphasised the importance of solidarity among journalists and media outlets in protecting their fundamental rights and freedoms while calling for immediate and decisive action to address threats against media freedom.
"All journalists and media organisations need to stand united in defence of our rights and freedoms. We need action now. Let us also remind those behind these attacks that they will not get away with it; if not today, then certainly not tomorrow," he said.
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