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Radio Maanta
September 21, 2012, in Mogadishu, Somalia
Unidentified armed men shot
Hassan, a reporter and producer for the private Radio Maanta, three times in
the head near a high school in Yaqshid District in Mogadishu, according to news
reports. The assailants fled before the police arrived at the scene, news reports
said.
Hassan had worked as a journalist since 1989 and contributed to Radio Mogadishu and the broadcaster GBC, according to local news reports. He had covered a suicide bomb attack the day before at a popular café frequented by journalists and civil servants, according to local journalists and news reports. At least 14 people died in the blast, including three journalists, news reports said.
Local journalists told CPJ that the identities of the gunmen were not clear, but news accounts citing local journalists reported that the attacks were happening in government-controlled areas. "So it could be Al-Shabaab or another militia, or even former government officials," said one journalist who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. It is not clear why Hassan would have been targeted.
In March 2013, a Somali military court convicted Adan Sheikh Abdi Sheikha Hussein, a reputed Al-Shabaab member, in the murder and sentenced him to death. Authorities said he killed Hassan in reprisal for his reporting on the suicide attack, according to local news reports.
Local journalists said they were skeptical of the court's finding because of perceived due process violations and the presence of some exculpatory evidence. In April 2013, the journalist union began conducting its own investigation into the case.
Medium: Radio
Job: Broadcast Reporter, Producer
Beats Covered: Crime, Culture, Politics
Gender: Male
Local or Foreign: Local
Freelance: No
Type of Death: Murder
Suspected Source of Fire: Political Group
Impunity: Yes
Taken Captive: No
Tortured: No
Threatened: No
Related Articles:
- Fourth Somali journalist killed in Mogadishu in 24 hours, September 21, 2012
