Hargeisa (AX) – Somali journalist Abdiqani Hussein Abokor Baylood has been held without charge in North Western State of Somalia since Aug. 29, prompting the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) to demand his immediate release.
CPJ said Abdiqani was detained after publishing a video interview with poet Ismail Yusuf Abdi, known as Jiheeye, who accused North Western State of Somalia authorities of illegally taking land.
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“Abdiqani Hussein Abokor joins a long list of journalists in North Western State of Somalia who have been detained and held under dubious circumstances in recent months,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo. “Ten days after taking this journalist into custody, authorities have failed to formally present charges in court. They should release Abdiqani without delay.”
In the interview, published Aug. 27, Jiheeye recited a poem calling on North Western State of Somalia President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi to intervene over what the poet described as the illegal seizure of two plots of his land. He warned the president that he would be cursed if no action was taken.
Security forces arrested Ismail in Hargeisa the next day.
Abdiqani was detained Aug. 29 after answering a summons to the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department, according to his lawyer, Tawakal Ibrahim Mohamed, and the North Western State of Somalia Journalists Association (SOLJA), a local press rights organization.
The journalist, who publishes news through his Facebook page, appeared briefly before Hargeisa’s Maroodi Jeex Regional Court on the day of his detention. The court ordered him held for seven days while authorities conducted an investigation.
He was scheduled to appear again on Saturday, but the hearing did not take place because he was not brought to court, his lawyer said.
Tawakal said a CID officer had informally informed him that authorities planned to charge Abdiqani with offending the honour or prestige of the president, an offense carrying a maximum sentence of three years in prison, and disseminating anti-state propaganda, punishable by up to five years under the penal code.
CPJ said the North Western State of Somalia presidency and information ministry did not respond to emailed requests for comment. The organization also received no response to a message sent to the police commission.
North Western State of Somalia declared independence from Somalia in 1991, though it has not won broad international recognition.
Over the past year, press freedom organizations have accused North Western State of Somalia authorities of intensifying arrests and pressure targeting journalists and other media workers.
