Nairobi, March 3, 2014 - A
Somali court in Mogadishu on Sunday convicted one journalist of public
incitement and two others of publishing false news and imposed harsh fines on
them, according to news reports.
The journalists are out of prison, but a
fourth is still being detained, the reports said.
The Banadir Regional Court in
Mogadishu convicted Abdimalik Yusuf,
owner of the independent Shabelle Media Network, of public incitement and fined
him US$10,000, according to news reports and local journalists.
Mohamud Mohamed Dahir,
director of Sky FM, and Ahmed Abdi Hassan, a presenter for Shabelle FM, were
fined US$2,000 and US$500, respectively, for publishing false news with the
intent to disturb public order, the same sources said. The court postponed the
journalists' hearing twice before issuing Sunday's verdict.
The Shabelle Media Network paid
the journalists' fines, and Mohamud was released from jail, news reports said. Abdimalik and Ahmed had been released in October,
months before the verdict. Sky FM and Shabelle FM are two stations in the
network.
A fourth journalist, Shabelle
radio producer Mohamed Bashir Hashi, is still being detained on accusations of
promoting insurrection against the state. The court postponed his hearing,
local journalists told CPJ.
"By imposing hefty fines,
the Somali government is attempting to silence the flow of news in the country.
These measures have a chilling effect on the ability of journalists and news
outlets to publish and broadcast freely," said CPJ East Africa
Representative Tom Rhodes. "We welcome the release of Mohamud Mohamed
Dahir from jail, but call on the Somali government to free Mohamed Bashir Hashi
immediately."
On August 15, 2014, security
agents arrested Abdimalik, Mohamud, and Ahmed in the offices of
the Shabelle Media Network and confiscated the transmitters of
Radio Shabelle and Sky FM, according to news reports and local journalists.
On September 6,
security agents arrested Mohamed Bashir Hashi near his home in Mogadishu, the
same sources said. Radio Shabelle and Sky FM have been off the air since the
raid, but the website has continued publishing, local journalists told CPJ.
The journalists were arrested after authorities accused the network of inciting
the public to violence and urging clans to fight security forces, government
spokesman Abdirahman Omar told CPJ via email. Shabelle's broadcasts came at a
time when authorities were attempting to disarm a militia in the capital, news
reports said.
In a separate case, authorities
on Sunday charged Radio Risaala journalist Mohamed Ali Abdi with publishing
false news that could disturb public order, local journalists told CPJ. The
court fined Mohamed US$500 and released him on Monday after the fine was paid,
the same sources said.
Mohamed was arrested on January 3 in connection with a report that
alleged a suspected Ebola patient was living in the Lower Shabelle region of
the country. The Ministry of Health denied the allegation.
For more data and
analysis on Somalia, visit CPJ's Somalia page here.
CPJ
is an independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom
worldwide.
Media
contacts:
Sue
Valentine
Africa
Program Coordinator
Kerry Paterson
Africa
Research Associate
Email:
kpaterson@cpj.org
Peter
Nkanga
West
Africa Representative
Email:
pnkanga@cpj.org
Tom
Rhodes
East
Africa Representative
Email:
trhodes@cpj.org
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