Monday August 10, 2020
Hargeisa, Somaliland (HOL) - Over more than three weeks since he was arrested, Astaan TV CEO Abdinaman Yusuf remains behind bars with no charges yet leveled against him by Somaliland authorities.
Yusuf was arrested on July 17 in Hargeisa under circumstances which to date remain undisclosed. A week after his arrest, police in Hargeisa sought a further one week from Marodi-Jeh Regional Court to conclude investigations but two weeks have since passed without a word from the court or police.
Reports close to the state of the media manager indicate that he has been taken to hospital amid fears he may not receive sufficient medication while in custody. In the backdrop of COVID19 pandemic, Yusuf remains vulnerable and his situation could further deteriorate.
Journalists across Somalia and Somaliland have called for Yusuf’s release and so have local and international pressure groups.
Yusuf’s arrest and indefinite detention adds to the increasing number of journalists and media houses in Somaliland which have suffered from the heavy handedness of the government.
The Ministry of Information announced Monday a fine of $15,000 against Universal TV and $5,000 against Star TV. The government had accused Universal TV of not airing President Muse Bihi’s Independence Day speech and instead transmitting that of President Mohamed Farmaajo on July 26.