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 A body representing journalists in Somalia is calling for the release of a radio reporter who, it’s claimed, has been arrested by the militia while attending an organised news conference. The Associated Somali Journalists (ASOJ) says Hussein Hassan Dhaqane’s capture and imprisonment sends a threatening message to all journalists working in the region.
Dhaqane was arrested when the governor of Hiiraan region, Yusuf Ahmed Hagar Dabageed, was holding a news conference at which the local journalists had been invited.
When Dhaqane arrived at the news conference, militia loyal to Dabageed captured and arrested him.
According to the ASOJ chairman, Dahir Alasow, the arrest has totally undermined the relationship between the media and those governing the Hiiraan region.
“It is shameful for officials to arrest a Somalian radio reporter in these circumstances. He was simply going about his work.
“The authorities need to charge him and try him. If he is found innocent of the charges levelled against him then we will see that the arrest is an attack on freedom of the media.”
The ASOJ has also urged the TFG (Transitional Federal Government) to repair the damage done by the arrest to media freedom in Somalia and has demanded that the Hiiraan regional authority stops intimidating journalists. |
