Hargeisa regional court sentenced Mohamed Abdi Guled Urad, Editor-in-Chief of Yool weekly Newspaper in Hargeisa, on Tuesday, 17 March 2009, to a 5-months’ prison sentence for publishing a newspaper that does not have a permission to print and “spreading lies” This according to fellow journalists and family who were present at the court.

Mohamed Abdi Guled, widely known as Urad, was arrested Thursday 26 February. According to journalists in Hargeisa, Urad was initially accused of writing an article on secret killings of Somaliland leaders. The article was published in the newspaper 24 February. It states that killings are planned for some members of the Somaliland parliament, leaders of opposition parties and traditional elders. Journalists in Somaliland strongly believe that Urad’s arrest was politically motivated, after noticing the strong interference from Somaliland ministers, especially finance minister Mr Awil Ali Duale, who was seen on Tuesday at the CID to influence the judges and prosecutor.

The Hargeisa court could not prove Mohamed Abdi Guled “Urad” guilty, and the judge played the role of government prosecutor by confirming the charges brought by the latter, said another editor who has worked with Urad for many years, but does not want to be named. Family members and journalists in the court room were ordered to leave the room when the judge was announcing the verdict. The public prosecutor refused the family’s intention to buy the jail sentence. “We protest powerfully to this politically-organised sentence, for the reason that Mohamed Abdi Guled did not get a free and fair trail,” says Omar Faruk Osman Nur, right, NUSOJ’s Secretary General. “This is an intolerable campaign of harassment against critical journalists in order to silence them from reporting election campaigns independently”.

Opposition political parties accuse the government of trying to put pressure on news media. “This kind of repression against media professionals demonstrates how the authorities do not observe international norms of democracy and human rights, including respect and protection of press freedom,” Omar Faruk added. “Due to the apparent pattern of repression against journalists and news media, we appeal to the international community backing Somaliland’s elections to put pressure on Somaliland authorities to stop violent suppression of the media,” Omar Faruk concluded.