Friday, January 14, 2011
Press release
According to sources close to journalist Mohamed Ali Mohamud, Al-Shabaab militias raided the home of the journalist two months before and kidnapped him, blindfolded, after accusing him of spying for “enemies of Islam”.
Mohamud, who is being held at Al-Shabaab’s feared Huriwa prison, is supposed to be brought to Al-Shabaab “trail” anytime soon. His laptop computer was confiscated and sources of Al-Shabaab assertively stated that they have “actual evidence” proofing the journalist’s spying activities.
“We are very worried about Mohamud’s safety. He has never been spy, and we demand Al-Shabaab to free this journalist quickly and unharmed,” said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General.
Al-Shabaab declined family members, relatives and fellow journalists to visit Mohamed Ali Mohamud at the prison. NUSOJ, which is also concerned about reports of torture of the journalist to reveal his “spying collaborators”, will be closely monitoring the situation of Mohamud’s mockery of a trial.
NUSOJ fears that Mohamed Ali Mohamud faces unfair trial with grave consequences to his life. “Al-Shabaab must stop continued brutal persecution of journalists” added Omar Faruk.
Source: NUSOJ