Nairobi, January 11, 2013–Somali authorities should immediately release a freelance journalist who has been in custody in Mogadishu since Thursday for interviewing a woman who claimed she was raped by government soldiers, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Abdiaziz Abdinuur, who is also known as “Koronto,” has reported for several local and international news outlets, including Dalsan Radio, Badri Media Productions, Radio Ergo, and the U.K.-based Daily Telegraph. He was summoned on Thursday to the Central Investigations Department (CID) in the capital for questioning in connection with his January 6 interview with an internally displaced woman who has claimed that she was raped by several soldiers last year, according to news reports and local journalists who spoke to Abdiaziz. No warrant was issued for the journalist’s arrest, and no charges have been filed against him, the sources said.
The woman has claimed that she was raped by Somali soldiers while living in a camp for internally displaced persons in Mogadishu in December, according to news reports. On January 6, Al-Jazeera English published a story of government soldiers raping internally displaced women in Mogadishu camps. It is unclear if the woman mentioned in the Al-Jazeera story is the woman whom Abdiaziz interviewed, but local journalists said the Al-Jazeera report is what led to police looking for the source of the allegations.
Police also summoned for questioning Omar Faruk, a correspondent for the Al-Jazeera Arabic Service in Somalia, but released him after he said he had no connection with the Al-Jazeera English report.
CID Chief Abdullahi Hassan interrogated the reported victim early Thursday, demanding that she give them contact information for any journalists who interviewed her, and then used her phone to contact Abdiaziz, according to news reports. Police also arrested the woman, but released her on Thursday on the condition that she return today for further questioning.
Abdiaziz told police that he had interviewed the reported victim, but had not published the story, according to local journalists and news reports. Police searched his home and confiscated his laptop, digital recorder, and cellphone, local journalists said.
Authorities did not immediately disclose their reason for detaining and interrogating a person who reported a crime and the individuals to whom she reported it. Repeated calls to the information minister and deputy information minister were not answered.
“It is shameful that Somali authorities have arrested a woman who has reported a rape, and a reporter who documented her story, instead of conducting an investigation into this reported crime,” said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. “There is absolutely no reason Abdulaziz Abdinuur should be in custody. He should be released immediately and his personal property returned.”
· For more data and analysis on Somalia, visit CPJ’s Somalia page here.
###
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization
that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.
Contact:
Mohamed Keita
Africa Advocacy Coordinator
Tel. +1.212.465.1004 ext. 117
Email: mkeita@cpj.org
Tom Rhodes
East Africa Consultant
Email: trhodes@cpj.org
I hope they bring those swine to justice and let the woman and the reporter go.
Somalia has just started rebuilding after a long period of lawlessness. The world and the reporter should be more supportive of this instead of showing what is obviously possible that the most vulnerable have suffered and still suffering due to the collapse of its society through external, internal wars and medelling which we all are aware of. Media should sometimes work with local law and government with such situation and show some discretion. They are not at the level as many other countries yet give them a chance to recover and help where it is most beneficial to all parties interests. Peace out
In addition. If you look at the date this crime occurred which is a year ago. You would semis that this current government was only sworn in and supported by the international world six months ago. Thus, old news. Which brings us to a question? Are their elements within the media trying to derail international as well Somali progress. The answer should be yes. The same who use you as a human shield to their causes.
I wanna tell you all. Somalis live in a semi desert. Arabs live in a semis desert. Both are being attached in our modern and advanced societies. Whilst I'm fought. I wonder why? I live amongst the harshest conditions. Yet I am the most hated. Question? Is humankind getting too complaisant as well as too hateful, too protectionist and lastly too sacrificial. Just as their predecessors who panicked and caused armagedon amongst previous civilisations that ended .mmmmmm. Will civilisation end again because previous errors are being repeated. Have we evolved??? I question this everyday.
This is for those people that are always quick to judge without having no clue about the subject they're
talking about only to end up shooting themselves in the foot http://wardheernews.com/News_2013/Jan/14_Journ_Ar…
Yep @Samale Somali journalist are no way
Near saints ! They get away with some false
accusation all the Time !
Anyway Thats another story of making profit
out of somalia bad luck ! I amazed at how many
Make a living out Of it…
Disgusting people from a disgusting country lead by a disgusting NGO-sponsored man who paid $10,000 for a Majority vote of 190 out of a total of 271.
NGOs get $billions every year in the name of the starving 1.5million Idps every year. If it takes $1 to feed these children each day well it cost Hassan Mahamoud only 1-days worth of food for the children to win his SELECTION process!!!
JUST one day and you expect Law and Order in a place like that? there are a dozen rapes every day and most committed by Somali-police forces.
What will happen as soon as Amisom leave????????????????????
🙁 When your police officers are rapists and some are turning a blind eye so they can keep their pay… do you honestly believe SUCH men or Police officers will ever bring back peace and justice or will they wait for the chance to perform a coup d'etat just like Siyad Bare did?
When Amisom leave there will be the MOTHER of CLAN-GENOCIDES never before seen on earth!
You are full of hate wishing genocide on innocent community. How would you feel if I said, mother of clan-genocide happen to your habros? If you have something against a particular person or ideology that is one thing – and I can understand it. But to hate an entire clan, that is just pure hate on your part.
Jabuutawi Asking me to be considerate to these people is like me asking you to love your Eritreans neighbors!
The day you are comfortable with Djibouti joining Eritrea i can take your above comments more seriously until then please mind your won concerns and do not attempt to correct my exercising that gold freedom of speech we all love so much… I will not give any of them the benefit of the doubt and they deserve nothing of the kind and the same blanket treatment they give Somaliland-republic and it's people i shall forever reflect till we have 2-Independent Recognized states that are neighbors and at peace.
P.s you brought up the Clan issue i tend to classify them all as Fufu-federationists.
I am waiting for round 3 of the darood vs hawiye war Chronicles. But i believe the daroods will loose as usual
The things the widows left behind in north Somalia are very angry things. All their see is pain and Siad Bare, they can never get over been the "victim" like naago.
You should name your President Sheikh Boqol-iyo-sagaashan tuug 🙂
Hassan NGO stole the moqadishu Selection process by buying 190votes.