Somalia

2015

  

Syria, France most deadly countries for the press

Of 69 journalists killed for their work in 2015, 40 percent died at the hands of Islamic militant groups such as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State. More than two-thirds of the total killed were singled out for murder. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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China, Egypt imprison record numbers of journalists

Egypt is second only to China as the world’s worst jailer of journalists in 2015. Worldwide, the number of journalists behind bars for their work declined moderately during the year, but a handful of countries continue to use systematic imprisonment to silence criticism. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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Security officers investigate after a car bomb killed Somali journalist Hindia Haji Mohamed. (AFP/Mohamed Abdiwahab)

Car bomb kills broadcast journalist in Somalia

New York, December 3, 2015–A Somali journalist with state-run media was killed today in Mogadishu when a bomb blew up her car, according to news reports. Hindia Haji Mohamed was the widow of another journalist killed in an attack in Mogadishu in 2012.

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A screen shot of Jama Yusuf Deperani, left, interviewing Information Minister Mohamoud Hassan on Somali Channel TV

Puntland authorities arrest Somali Channel TV presenter

Nairobi, November 20, 2015–Authorities in Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland arrested Jama Yusuf Deperani, a reporter and presenter with Somali Channel TV, on Thursday, according to one of his colleagues and a member of the Media Association of Puntland, who both spoke to CPJ.

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Getting Away With Murder

CPJ’s 2015 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and the killers go free Published October 8, 2015 Elisabeth Witchel/CPJ Impunity Campaign Consultant The ambush of a convoy in South Sudan and the hacking deaths of bloggers in Bangladesh this year propelled the two nations onto CPJ’s Global Impunity Index, which spotlights countries…

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A screengrab of Universal TV's talk show Doodwadaag. The show's producer and a director for the station have been arrested. (YouTube)

Somali security agents raid Universal TV office, arrest journalists

Nairobi, October 5, 2015–Somali national security forces raided the offices of the privately owned broadcaster Universal TV in Mogadishu on October 2 and arrested Abdullahi Hersi, the station’s East Africa director, and Awil Dahir Salad, a producer, on the same day, according to local journalists and reports.

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Militia in central Somalia detains six journalists for four days

Ahlu Sunna Waljama, a formerly government-aligned religious militia based in central Somalia, detained six journalists from July 31, 2015, to August 3, 2015, in the central town of Dhusamareb, according to news reports and local journalists.

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CPJ welcomes arrest of suspect behind Somali kidnapping

New York, June 12, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the arrest in Canada on Thursday of Ali Omar Ader, a Somali allegedly involved in the 2008 kidnapping of journalists Amanda Lindhout, Nigel Brennan, and Abdifatah Mohamed Elmi, a Somali fixer and photojournalist. Ali, who appeared briefly in court in Ottawa today, is alleged to…

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Daud Ali Omar, a producer for Radio Baidoa, was shot dead in his home. (Radio Dalsan)

Gunmen kill a radio journalist in Somalia

Nairobi, May 1, 2015–Unidentified armed men on Wednesday night shot dead Somali journalist Daud Ali Omar at his home, according to local journalists and news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Somali authorities to identify the motive in the murder and apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators. The gunmen broke into Daud’s house at…

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Residents sit under Somaliland's Independence memorial in Hargeisa. Journalists there say conditions are improving, but they remain wary. (Reuters/Feisal Omar)

Mission Journal: Fewer arrests but fear still lingers for Somaliland’s press

Conditions for the press in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland may, on the surface, appear to be improving. But without a functioning media law to lend protection, and pending legislative elections, journalists remain wary of state harassment.

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2015