Somalia

Nairobi, July 2, 2010—Somali government forces have been increasingly harassing independent journalists covering violent fighting in Mogadishu, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On Tuesday, several journalists were wounded when missiles were fired on a press conference in the battlefield of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. When the National Union of Somali Journalists broke news of the attack, I immediately checked in with local reporters. I obtained the phone number of photojournalist Ilyas Ahmed Abukar, expecting to speak to a frantic or traumatized man, but to my surprise, Abukar was alert, calm, and willing to share his personal account of what transpired. After a short conversation, he pledged to continue answering my questions via e-mail. Here is some of what he told me.

An exodus from Iran, East Africa

At least 85 journalists fled their home countries in the past year in the face of attacks, threats, and possible imprisonment. High exile rates are seen in Iran and in the East African nations of Somalia and Ethiopia. A CPJ Special Report by María Salazar-Ferro

In “From Captivity to Exile," Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout talks about the plight of Somali cameraman Mohamed Abdifatah Elmi. The two were abducted along with three others in 2008. Freed after many months, Elmi remains at risk and is now in exile. (3:59)

Read our accompanying special report, “Journalists in Exile 2010.” Please visit our Journalist Assistance program and see how you can help.

At CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award ceremony in November 2009, Agence France-Presse's Somalia correspondent Mustafa Haji Abdinur—an award winner—pleaded with his audience: “Friends, if a journalist is killed the news is also killed. We need your support now more than ever. Please don’t forget us.” Abidnur, 28, has not been forgotten. We are excited to learn that on Saturday he won the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year Award in the Free Press category.

Last week, I attended an unusual event called the Courage Forum at which half a dozen speakers, from tightrope artist Philippe Petit and Sudanese rapper Emmanuel Jal to Virgin founder and chairman Richard Branson, talked about about overcoming fear.

New York, May 5, 2010—Three gunmen shot dead veteran broadcast journalist Sheik Nur Mohamed Abkey on Tuesday evening as he was returning home from work at the state-run Radio Mogadishu, local journalists told CPJ. Gunmen abducted Abkey, left, near his residence in Wardhigley, southern Mogadishu, and shot him repeatedly in the head. Local journalists said they suspect Abkey was tortured after finding his body dumped in an alleyway in Wardhigley.

CPJ’s 2010 Impunity Index spotlights countries
where journalists are slain and killers go free

New York, April 20, 2010—Deadly, unpunished violence against the press has soared in the Philippines and Somalia, the Committee to Protect Journalists has found in its newly updated Impunity Index, a list of countries where journalists are killed regularly and governments fail to solve the crimes. Impunity in journalist murders also rose significantly in Russia and Mexico, two countries with long records of entrenched, anti-press violence.

Radio journalist Ahmed Omar Hashi is a survivor, but he has paid dearly. He's been threatened and targeted for death. He's seen his colleagues and friends killed. Now, like other Somali journalists, Hashi struggles in exile and hopes one day he can resume his work. By Karen Phillips

In “A Somali Journalist in Exile,” CPJ talks with Ahmed Omar Hashi, a former editor for the independent Mogadishu station Radio Shabelle. After three attempts were made on Hashi’s life, CPJ and local partners helped him relocate to Uganda. Hashi talks about the many challenges in his new life in exile and his hopes to resume his work. (5:00)

Read our accompanying special report, “A Somali Journalist in Exile.” Please visit our Journalist Assistance program and see how you can help.