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Black Week For Freedom Of Information In Somalia

Storyline:National News

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the latest violations of freedom of information by Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), which in the past week has arrested three journalists and deleted the recordings made by reporters at a news conference.

The latest victim was Ahmed Omar Ahmed of Radio Shabelle who was detained yesterday when about to attend a ceremony at the Mogadishu police academy and was taken to Hamar Jajab police station, where he was not told the reason for his arrest.

It came just three days after NISA officers arrested Abdukar Mohamed Ali of Star FM and freelance journalist Abdirisak Omar Ahmed in a Mogadishu café on 17 December.

Ali was released the next day but Ahmed is still being held, without having been brought before a judge. Journalists attending a news conference last week about the 2016 presidential election suddenly had all of their equipment seized on the orders of Gen. Adurahman Mohamed Tuuryare, the head of the NISA. All video and audio recordings were deleted before the equipment was returned.

RSF