journalist

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…

Monday April 20, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s media landscape is still operating under heavy pressure, with journalists facing repeated attacks and those behind them largely escaping punishment, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) said. In its annual State of the Media report, released Sunday, the union recorded 72 violations of media freedom from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2025, and said the pattern of abuse was broad, persistent and deeply rooted. The report said 70 of the cases involved individual…

After a week in captivity in Baghdad, US journalist Shelly Kittleson has been freed by Iraq's powerful armed faction Kataeb Hezbollah, according to statements from the Iranian-backed group and the United States. News of her release came just hours before the United States and Iran reached a ceasefire agreement, ending more than a month of war. "In recognition of the national stances of the outgoing prime minister, we have decided to release the American defendant Shelly Kittleson, on the condition that she leave the country…

Baghdad authorities are combing the city after a US journalist was abducted, according to two police officials, in a case that has renewed scrutiny over the dangers facing foreigners in Iraq. The Iraqi interior ministry confirmed that a female journalist had been kidnapped, though it stopped short of revealing her nationality. Officials said one suspect had been taken into custody and that operations were continuing to secure the journalist’s release. Police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, later identified the…

CPJ urges North Western State of Somalia to free journalist detained without charge since Feb. 22 Monday March 9, 2026 HARGEISA, North Western State of Somalia (AX) — The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday called for the immediate release of Ahmed-Zaki Ibrahim Mohamud, a Hargeisa-based reporter and founder of the online outlet Warrame Media, who has been held without formal charges since February 22 in North Western State of Somalia. CPJ said unidentified individuals raided Warrame Media’s offices in Hargeisa on the…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — The International Press Institute on Sunday condemned the killing of Somali journalist Abshir Khalif Shidane in Kismayo and the separate detention of a television reporter in Mogadishu, calling the incidents the latest evidence of mounting pressure on the country’s media and urging swift accountability. Shidane, 25, was shot and killed the evening of March 2 in Kismayo, the capital of Jubaland State, after a police officer opened fire following a brief argument at a checkpoint, according to reports from…

Jubbaland police arrest officer after journalist Abshir Khalif Shide Omar is shot dead in Kismayo MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Jubbaland state police officer has been arrested after fatally shooting broadcast journalist Abshir Khalif Shide Omar in Kismayo, authorities and media representatives said Tuesday. The killing occurred Monday evening in the interim administrative capital of Jubbaland after what police and colleagues described as a brief altercation between the journalist and the officer. The motive remains unclear, and…

KISMAYO, Somalia — A broadcast journalist was shot dead Monday night in the southern port city of Kismayo after an altercation with a police officer, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists. Authorities say the officer has been arrested and an investigation is underway. Abshir Khalif Shide Omar was killed at about 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 2, 2026, following a brief dispute with a police officer, NUSOJ said, citing initial inquiries. The union said the motive remains unclear and the full circumstances have yet to…

Record 129 journalists killed in 2025, CPJ says, with two-thirds linked to Israel A record 129 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists said, marking a second straight annual high and the deadliest year since the watchdog began tracking deaths more than three decades ago. “Journalists are being killed in record numbers at a time when access to information is more important than ever,” CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg said in a statement. “We are all at risk when journalists are…

Somali journalist Abdihafid Nur Barre arrested in Mogadishu; opposition figures decry media crackdown Tuesday February 24, 2026 MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali Cable TV journalist Abdihafid Nur Barre was arrested Tuesday in Mogadishu’s Waaberi district, the broadcaster said, prompting a wave of condemnation from prominent political figures who cast the detention as a blow to press freedom. Somali Cable TV said military forces carried out the arrest. Security agencies had not issued an official statement clarifying the…