Tuesday, June 08, 2010
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Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Last week's detention of three journalists in breakaway Somaliland capital Hargeysa has raised deep concern about the deteriorating press freedom in Somalia, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) said Monday.Three journalists working for different media stations were assaulted and detained on 2 June in Hargeysa by the presidential security guards.
According to NUSOJ, the journalists were taking photographs at a house, opposite the presidential palace in Hargeysa, which was being painted with the flag of Kulmiye party -- one of the leading opposition parties contesting the upcoming presidential election.
Mohamoud Abdi Jama, chairman of Waaheen Media Group that runs a newspaper and a radio station, Mohamed Said Abdillahi aka Xarago, editor of Berberanews.com and Mohammed Rashid Mahamoud, chief editor of Saxafi newspaper, were briefly held at a prison near the presidential palace and were later transferred to Central Police station where they were being detained.
''I was photographing the presidential security guards arresting and beating supporters of Kulimiye party, painting the party's flag on a house across from the presidential palace, before I noticed a plain clothed security man pointing a pistol at me,'' said Mohamed Said Abdillahi in an interview with Somalilandpress.com inside the prison.
On 27 May 2010, Puntland security forces attacked journalists covering the after math of a recent heavy rain in Bossaso town, the regional headquarters of Bari region in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland.
Source: Pana