Saturday December 11, 2021
MOGADISHU (HOL) - Somalia remains one of the most restrictive and hostile environments for journalists to operate in, a media campaign body had said calling for abolition of oppressive laws and adherence to international standards on media freedom.
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) said in marking the International Human Rights day observed on Friday that journalists in Somalia continue to suffer state excesses thanks to oppressive laws and lack of accountability.
"Certain historical policies and pieces of legislation not aligned to a human rights framework, are being used as weapons to criminalise journalism," NUSOJ said. "Examples of these include the recently-enacted amended media law and the Penal Code of Somalia that are friendly being used to silence independent media organisations and journalists, and significantly restrict freedom of expression and to the right of access to information."
The media watchdog noted that these legal frameworks provide Federal Member States with overly broad powers to arbitrarily arrest, detain and charge journalists with vaguely-worded offences. In some cases, journalists are detained for days without charges as has been clearly witnessed this year in Puntland and Galmudug.
It cited the recent arrests of two journalists in Qardho, Puntland. In one instance, Puntland police raided and ransacked the office of female journalist Habiba Ibrahim and days later arrested another journalist Mohamed Osman Fantastic who was detained for six days without charges
“We condemn in the strongest terms, the pervasive culture of shifting blame to the messenger, whenever there is a political dispute. Journalists have often been turned into soft targets for repression whenever authorities want to conceal embarrassing episodes about their conduct from the public,” said NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman. “Instead of authorities upholding and protecting the safety and security of journalists, a systematic campaign of judicial harassment against journalists is now underway.”
NUSOJ called for the repeal of the current Media Act and disabling of certain provisions of the Penal Code which aid oppression of journalists.
In 2021, NUSOJ added, two journalists were killed and more than 30 others arrested and attacked "for staying committed to their professional obligations."
This year's Human Rights Day is based on the theme, EQUALITY - Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights.