Wednesday July 29, 2020
Mogadishu (HOL) - A court in Mogadishu has sentenced a journalists to six months in jail and a fine of $200 for his reporting of the COVID19 pandemic.
Banaadir Regional Court slapped Goobjoog Media Group editor Abdiaziz Gurbiye with the jail term after it found him guilty of ‘publishing false information’ using a 1964 law.According to Somali Journalists Syndicate, a local journalists’ pressure group, the journalist was immediately taken to Central Jail in Mogadishu to serve his sentence.
SJS however noted lawyers for the journalist were exploring the option of substituting the jail term with a fine.
Gurbiye was first arrested in April this year over Facebook posts criticizing the government over the manner in which it was handling the COVID19 response.
The charges which included ‘damaging the reputation of the President’ were later amended.
There is yet an official statement from the defense lawyers or Goobjoog Media Group.
More to follow.