Hargeisa, Somaliland – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling on the authorities in Somaliland to end a systematic crackdown on independent journalism, following a sharp rise in arrests and the recent imprisonment of a journalist for his work.
The press freedom situation has deteriorated markedly since the government of President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi took power in December 2024. Since January 2025, RSF has recorded 21 arrests of journalists, with 7 detainees held for more than two days.
A key example is the case of Abdiaziz Saleban Sulub, a journalist with the online broadcaster KF Media TV. On October 7, he was sentenced to one year in prison and a heavy fine for posting excerpts of a governor’s speech. The governor accused him of altering the message, though the reporting did not distort its meaning.
Arrested on September 12, Sulub was acquitted by a lower court on September 27 but was kept in detention until his appeal hearing, which resulted in the surprising one-year conviction. He was released only after a local journalists’ association paid to commute his sentence.
“This conviction is a stark example of the increased repression journalists face,” said Sadibou Marong, Director of RSF’s Sub-Saharan Africa Bureau. “The Somaliland government must end this crackdown and guarantee that journalists can work without fear of retaliation.”
Pattern of Harassment and Intimidation
· September 2025: Nine journalists were arbitrarily arrested.
· On September 27, four reporters covering a ministerial visit in Erigavo were beaten by police, detained for seven hours, and released without charge.
· Other journalists have been arrested without cause and released the same day, indicating a pattern of harassment.
Forced into Exile
The climate of fear has forced Mohamoud Abdi Jama (Xuuto), the former president of the Somaliland Journalists Association, to flee the country. In June, he was summoned by the Criminal Investigations Department over a Facebook post criticizing a government agreement. He told RSF that a minister ordered his arrest, prompting him to escape the building and leave Somaliland to avoid detention.
RSF’s attempts to contact Somaliland’s Minister of Information, Ahmed Yasin Sheikh Ali Ayanle, for comment on this deteriorating situation have gone unanswered.
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About Reporters Without Borders (RSF):Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is an international non-profit organization that defends the right to freedom of information worldwide.
