Militia arrests three journalists, threatens radio station

Reporters Without Borders firmly condemns three new arrests of journalists by the Al-Shabaab militia. They are radio Markabley manager Ahmed Omar Salihi, who was arrested yesterday and was held overnight in the southern city of Bardhere, and two of the station’s reporters, Mohamed Salad Abdulle and Mohamed Abdikarim, who were arrested earlier yesterday in other towns in the south and are still being held. “The continued arrests and detention of our members by the Al-Shabaab group has reached an alarming proportion and we condemn such acts in the strongest terms possible,” said Omar Faruk Osman, secretary-general of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), the Reporters Without Borders partner organisation in Somalia. Salihi is a NUSOJ regional representative. “It is unacceptable that Al-Shabaab keeps on behaving in this manner with complete impunity,” Reporters Without Borders added. “The two journalists still being held must be released at once and the threats must stop.” Abdikarim, a correspondent for radio Hornafrik and radio Markabley, was arrested in the southern town of Baladhawo, while Abdulle, a fixer for the Somali Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and radio Markabley, was arrested in the southern city of Kismayo. The Islamist Al-Shabaab militia, which is on the Reporters Without Borders list of “Predators of Press Freedom”, has been posing a serious threat to journalists for years. It threatened yesterday to take further action against radio Markabley because of the station’s criticism. Ali Yusuf Adan, a journalist arrested by Al-Shabaab on 21 February, was released a few days later. He is in good health and is now in a safe location. See the previous release. Visit the NUSOJ website for more information about the situation of journalists in Somalia.