Somalia Records 72 Media Freedom Violations in 2025, Including One Journalist Killing

Somalia’s press came under relentless pressure in 2025, with a new report from the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) detailing 72 violations of media freedom over the course of the year and describing an environment in which journalists are routinely targeted while perpetrators remain untouched. The union said the pattern of abuse, from arrests to violence, shows repression of journalism is not only continuing but deeply rooted.

According to the State of the Media Report, 70 of the cases involved individual journalists and two were directed at media houses, a sign that both reporters and the institutions behind them remain exposed. The report also records the killing of journalist Mohamed Abukar Mohamed (Dabaashe) in 2025, a stark reminder that reporting in Somalia can carry deadly consequences.

The violations were heavily concentrated in a few areas. Banadir accounted for 39 of the 72 cases, or 54.2% of the total, while North Western State of Somalia made up 31.9%. The remaining incidents were spread across Puntland State, Galmudug, Jubaland and Southwest. The report also shows that attacks spiked at moments of heightened sensitivity, with May responsible for 20.8% of the cases and September for 15.3%, underlining how often pressure follows critical reporting.

The abuses documented range from arbitrary detention and threats to physical assaults, obstruction of reporting, legal intimidation and retaliation aimed at punishing journalists for their work. The report says the triggers were often clear: coverage of corruption, land evictions, political disputes, security operations and interviews or engagement with opposition figures. Taken together, the findings point to a deliberate effort to block scrutiny, suppress uncomfortable reporting and manage the flow of information.

One of the most troubling conclusions in the report concerns the role of security forces. Banadir Regional Police alone were linked to 54.2% of the documented violations, making them the leading perpetrators identified by NUSOJ. Across the country, police forces are repeatedly named in attacks on journalists, yet not a single officer or security official has faced accountability, a failure that the union says continues to embolden abuses.

The report also sheds light on the precarious working lives of journalists. Many earn less than US$100 a month, with some taking home only US$20 to US$50 and others working without pay altogether. In the absence of written contracts, safeguards and basic labour rights, journalists remain vulnerable to pressure and outside influence, conditions that undermine editorial independence and weaken standards across the profession.

Women journalists face an added layer of risk. NUSOJ documented 29 incidents of sexual and gender-based violence, with 58.6% taking place in newsrooms and 41.4% online. The report says these abuses, often committed by colleagues, authorities and other public actors, are used to intimidate women, silence them and drive them out of journalism, narrowing newsroom diversity and limiting public debate.

Legal pressure remains another powerful tool of control. NUSOJ points to the continued use of the 1964 Penal Code by all administrations in Somalia, along with restrictive clauses in the Media Law of 2020 and the broad application of the Anti-Terrorism Law, as mechanisms that have helped criminalise journalism and restrict reporting, especially on governance and security.

The consequences, the union warns, reach well beyond the news sector. When media freedom is weakened, transparency suffers, accountability erodes and access to information shrinks, all of which undermine democratic governance and make Somalia’s progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) harder to achieve.

NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman stated, “This report reveals a harsh truth: media freedom in Somalia is under constant assault and those responsible continue to act without consequence, making impunity the greatest enemy to media freedom in this country.” “The killing of a journalist in 2025 is a clear reminder that the risks are real and can be fatal. When more than half of all violations are attributed to a single police force and no one is held accountable, it sends a dangerous message that attacks on journalists are tolerated. Ending impunity is not optional. It is the only way to protect journalism and defend the public’s right to information.”

NUSOJ is urging immediate action, calling for credible investigations and prosecutions to end impunity, reforms to laws it says are being used to criminalise journalism, better working conditions for journalists and full implementation of the National Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists adopted in 2022. The union warned that without sustained intervention, the continuing erosion of media freedom will carry serious consequences for democratic transition, accountability and the future of a peaceful Somalia governed by the rule of law.