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By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.MOGADISHU, Somalia – The Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) calls on Puntland and SSC-Khaatumo (now Northeast Somalia State) to respect freedom of expression and to end intimidation tactics against journalists reporting on issues considered critical by local authorities including those reporting security related incidents.
On 22 July, the Puntland Intelligence and Security Agency (PISA) summoned Puntland-based online journalist Mohamud Nadif Shire after he published a series of news reports about Puntland’s ongoing counter-terrorism operation in Cal Miskaad. His reports included one telling soldiers opening fire on civilians in Garowe; complaints by the Puntland soldiers about lack of care; grievances from soldiers over unpaid dues, and coverage of the recent conflict in the Sanaag region involving Puntland maritime police force. These reports, which SJS reviewed, span from June to July of this year.
Shire, who runs a Facebook page with a following of 236,000, told SJS that he received a summoning order from PISA via phone call on 22 July. He was interrogated by PISA officers in Bosaso city on 24 July and instructed to report to the security agency’s office once every week. According to Mohamud, the questions he faced during the interrogation were intimidating and mainly focused on his reporting of security issues in the region.
On 30 July, SSC-Khaatumo authorities in Laascaanood briefly arrested freelance journalist Mohamed Muse Tarsan, who also reports for Somali National TV, after he conducted a live Facebook broadcast covering a protest by Warsangali clan delegates at the SSC-Khaatumo state formation conference in Laascaanood, which has since been renamed Northeast Somalia State.
Tarsan told SJS that he was held in detention for about eight hours before being released, and that those who arrested him wanted to suppress his “reporting and independent views” regarding the political developments in Laascaanood. The video, which was initially livestreamed on Tarsan’s Facebook, has since been deleted. The delegates reportedly protested against the number of parliamentary seats allocated to their clan in the new state assembly, as the federal government pushed for the completion of the new state which concluded on Sunday.
On 25 March, Puntland police in Galkayo, Mudug region, violently assaulted and arrested journalist Dalmar Isse Ahmed (popularly known as Dalmar Socdaal) after he published a video on his Facebook page on 13 March showing himself obtaining a national ID card issued by Somalia’s federal government in the southern part of Galkayo, which is under Galmudug administration. In the video, the journalist, who resides in Puntland-controlled North Galkayo, urged people to apply for the ID card.
Journalists present at the scene told SJS that during Dalmar’s arrest, the police fired heavy gunfire in a crowded area, putting many civilians at serious risk. Dalmar told SJS that he was held day and night in a small room near a Puntland police checkpoint on the outskirts of Galkayo before being released without trial or charges. He said that after the incident, he fled to Mogadishu out of fear for his safety.
Puntland authorities had warned its citizens against obtaining the federal government’s ID card calling it “politically-motivated”. Instead, Puntland announced that it would launch its own separate citizen identification card.
Puntland police in Galkayo declined to comment to SJS on why live ammunition was used and why the journalist was arrested.
“The arrest of Dalmar Isse Ahmed in Galkayo and the summoning and interrogation of Mohamud Nadif Shire in Bosaso are all meant to silence their reporting. We call on Puntland authorities not to use security or other pretexts to silence journalists while they are reporting on issues of public interest,” said SJS Secretary General, Abdalle Mumin.
“We are glad that Mohamed Muse Tarsan is free after a brief detention in Laascaanood. However, we call on authorities there to recognize that openness and transparency are the only ways to ensure effective administration, and that arresting journalists simply because you do not like what they report will not work at all,” added Mr. Mumin.
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