More Than a Dozen Journalists Arrested While Covering Prison Riot in Somaliland

Police in Somaliland arrested at least 16 journalists covering a prison riot in the region's capital, Hargeisa. While a few journalists were released, others remain in detention. Some of the journalists were broadcasting live at the time of their arrests.

Some of the journalists who were arrested, per @HornDiplomat/Twitter

Arrests took place on April 13. Among those arrested were Naima Abdi Ahmed, founder of Carro Edeg Media; Mohamed Abdi Ilig, a reporter and chairperson of MM Somali TV; Mohamed Jamal Jirde, a cameraperson with MM Somali TV; BBC correspondent Hassan Galaydh; and Aidarus Mohamed, a reporter and regional bureau chief with Goobjoog Media Group, which is headquartered in Mogadishu.

That same day, police and members of the intelligence services raided Horn Cable TV offices, where they arrested more journalists and confiscated cameras.

Authorities have pushed back against any suggestion that they committed arbitrary arrests.

"There are people who misinformed the public about the small incident that happened at the prison. We hold them accountable, and we will not allow such people to go unpunished," said the commander-in-chief of the Somaliland Custodial Corps, Brigadier General Ahmed Awale Yusuf, in a news conference after the journalists were arrested.

Similarly, Justice Minister Saleban Warsame Guled claimed that journalists had rushed to the scene of the riot to “report unconfirmed news.”

The arrests violate a moratorium on arrests of journalists made in October 2020, when Somali President Mohamed Farmaajo said his administration would step up to protect journalists who have been targeted because of their work. The moratorium was among the recommendations proposed by Reporters without Borders (RSF) and the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) as part of a months-long campaign.

The current wave of arrests prompted a response from NUSOJ Secretary-General Abdalla Ahmed Mumin, who said the arrests indicate “an escalating crackdown on media freedom” in Somaliland, a de facto state in the Horn of Africa that is still considered by the international community to be part of Somalia.