Somaliland: Plea Made for Jailed Journalists
Below is an article published by Committee to Protect Journalists:
The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ruling by a court in the northern breakaway
A regional court in the capital, Hargeysa, ruled that editor Ali Abdi Dini, reporter Muhammad-Rashid Farah, and publisher Yusuf Abdi Gabobe of the Somali-language private daily Haatuf, would be tried under
Dini and Gabobe have been jailed without bail since their arrest on January 2, and Farah has gone into hiding, local journalists told CPJ. The journalists were detained in connection with articles that criticized President Dahir Rayale Kahin’s handling of a territorial dispute, and that accused his wife of corruption. Kahin has not issued any public statements in response to the allegations in the articles, local journalists said.
“We condemn this crackdown on journalists reporting on issues of public interest,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said. “We call on authorities to drop all charges against these journalists and to stop actions that criminalize critical reporting.”
Dini and Farah face three criminal charges including “insulting the good name and honor of the head of state,” “inciting the national forces of
Saeed said the defense has already filed appeals challenging the nature of the charges.
A fourth Haatuf journalist, correspondent Muhammad Omar Sheekh, has been jailed without charge since Sunday by Somaliland’s Criminal Investigation Department in connection with articles critical of Kahin’s administration, a source close to the paper told CPJ.
Large public demonstrations against the U.N.-backed Somali transitional government were staged in Somaliland this week after transitional President Abdullahi Yusuf said he views the breakaway region as part of