SOMALI JOUNALISTS FACING HARSH LIFE THREATENING CONDITIONS.
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Monday July 05, 2010 - 01:12:55 in English News by Super Admin
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Somali journalists are now facing the worst difficulties ever after the collapse of the late military regime in 1991.
In the fighting between Ethiopian and Somali government forces against Somali insurgents many journalists were arrested during their routine job covering news stories by Somali government officials accusing them that they were working for the insurgents.
Mohamed Bashir, a journalist from Shebelle Radio and his driver were apprehended and held in custody for more than a week by the Somali government.
Also, Hassan Sade, a journalist from Hornafrik Radio in Mogadishu was arrested and kept in a secret detention camp by either Ethiopian troops or the Somali government intelligence service.
“Somali Journalist receive written life threats or by telephone on daily basis” Dahir Alsow. A veteran journalist and Chairperson of the Associated Somali Journalists {ASOJ} , a Somali Journalist organization based in Mogadishu who now in unknown place as safe heaven after receiving a least 39 telephone life threats mostly from the Somali intelligence services .
‘Mohamed Hassan Sahal, director of Simba Radio, Mohamed Shill, a broadcaster and producer of Simba Radio and financial director of Simba were among Somali Journalists threatened by either by the government or the insurgents” said a confidential report we had received from one of the local Human Rights organizations in Mogadishu .
Abdulkadir Nadara, a famous Somali Journalist was sentenced for life sentence, as said by government officials , a verdict seen being unfair because the trial was kept secret from the public and the media , and the defendant was not allowed to have lawyer to defend him .
The arrest order was given by Somali Presidential Spokesman Hussein Mohamoud known as Hubsired, who accused the journalist having links with what he described as ‘A terrorist”.
Somali Journalists work on a critical condition where both opposing forces criticize and sometimes labeling them as spies who work for the other side.
“Even the insurgents accuse them as government secret agent' said Dahir Alsow who had blamed Ethiopian Forces, Somali government and the insurgents targeting Journalist, imposing them restriction and arbitrary arrests against Somali journalist who gather information in capital where indiscrimatory shells still continuing giving sacrifice and endangering their lives to do their mandate to inform the public what is happening in their surrounding .
Many radio stations in Mogadishu stopped their broadcasts including HornAfrik, IQK Radio and Global Broadcasting while Simba was out of air for two days after damaeged its antenna by stray bullets.
Abdi Fitah Mohamed Hilowle.
www.asoj.org
Mogadishu –Somalia
SOMALI JOUNALISTS FACING HARSH LIFE THREATENING CONDITIONS.
Somali journalists are now facing the worst difficulties ever after the collapse of the late military regime in 1991.