Sunday, September 16, 2007
The officers forcefully entered the Shabelle Media Network premises on Saturday after accusing one of its radio journalists of throwing a grenade at a police patrol, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ).
"The journalists and the supporting staff were released after nearly two hours and 30 minutes in detention, and in awful condition," the group said in a statement, without giving further details.
NUSOJ secretary general Omar Faruk Osman condemned the action.
"This police violence is completely intolerable, and we condemn this attack in the strongest manner," he said.
"It is unreasonable to suspect that journalists threw a grenade at the police," he added.
Shabelle journalists said in a statement: "We are not going to stop our profession as journalists because of threats and intimidation."
Rights groups have called for protection for journalists in Somalia, where at least seven journalists have been killed this year. A dozen journalists have also been arrested and five others have been ambushed and robbed.
Somalia is the second deadliest country worldwide after Iraq for journalists in 2007, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
The troubled Horn of Africa country has had no central authority since former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled in 1991 and has defied numerous attempts to restore stability.
Source: AFP, Sept 16, 2007