Guardian reporter and colleagues detained and beaten by Somali police | Global development
A journalist covering the case of a woman who said she was tortured in prison was detained and pistol-whipped by Somali officials and two others for her reporting on the Guardian.
Muhammad Bulbul Arrested along with journalists Abdihafid Nor Barre and Abdishakur Mohamed Mohamud While I was at a restaurant in the center of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, on Friday evening. They said they were attacked by members of Somalia’s US-trained counterterrorism police unit and taken away for questioning by police. All three were released early Saturday morning.
Media organizations and lawmakers said the arrests were unlawful and politically motivated. They come at a time when public anger against the ruling establishment is growing and repression is intensifying, with the presidential term set to end on May 15.
Abdirahman Abdishakur, a member of parliament and leader of the opposition Wadajir party, condemned the arrest of journalists. he wrote a post on x He said the head of Somalia’s administration “appears to be in fear and confusion as the end of his term approaches.”
He added: “Instead of addressing growing social anger over forced displacement, land grabbing, and seeking an overarching political solution to guide the country through this fragile transition period, the administration has intensified repression against journalists, activists, and outspoken youth.”
Bulbul’s detention is believed to be linked to social media reports of 27-year-old rickshaw driver Sadia Moalim Ali, who is in prison for her peaceful protest and activism. He also talks about abuses by security forces and forced evictions in Mogadishu.
On Thursday, the Guardian published a report by Bulbul in which Ali talked about being tortured in Mogadishu central prison. He said he was stripped naked by two male guards in a room monitored by CCTV, kicked, beaten with a baton and left without food in a small cell for two days. The article was shared widely in Somali media, Facebook and X.
He and two other journalists had faced constant threats and intimidation in recent weeks. Their detention comes at a time when political pressure is increasing due to protests expected to take place on Sunday.
Three reporters at the police station said they were threatened by Mogadishu police chief Mehdi Omar Mumin if they continued reporting on the protests.
Inside Statement from the Somali Journalists Union (SJS), journalists said that Mumin told them that he was “tired of arresting journalists” and that if they did not remain silent about the protests and other developments in Mogadishu, including the Ali case, the only option left for them would be “death”.
Somali StreamThe media outlet where Mohamud works condemned the arrests as “an illegal and politically motivated attack on independent journalism.”
AbdiKani Hamud Abokor, the publication’s general manager, said: “Somali Stream strongly condemns the unlawful detention of Abdishakur. [Mohamed] Muhammad, Abdihafid Nor [Barre]and Muhammad Bulbul. “This is a deliberate attempt to terrorize journalists, stifle independent reporting and instill fear in the Somali media community.”
The news follows the arrest of several journalists earlier this week. On May 6, at least five local journalists were arrested and their equipment confiscated. According to SJS. The organization added that two other broadcast reporters, Ja’far Mohamed Jim’ale and cameraman Nur Hasan Ali, were still detained, their whereabouts unknown.
according to World Press Freedom IndexSomalia ranks 126th out of 180 countries. According to Reporters Without Borders, which manages the index, journalists in the country work in an environment of great insecurity. Somalia is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in Africa, where more than 50 media professionals have been killed since 2010.
Somali authorities have been approached for a response.
