Judge Ali Sudi Diriye, presiding in a regional court in Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway northwestern territory of Somaliland, found Mohamud Abdi Jama on 22 January guilty on charges of defamation and “spreading false news,” local journalists told Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Sent immediately to prison
Diriye denied Jama bail and sent him immediately to Hargeisa Central Prison, defense lawyer Mohamud Osman told CPJ. Osman said he plans to appeal the verdict to the Somaliland’s Supreme Court.
The charges stem from a 2010 story accusing a state electricity company manager of hiring more than 50 employees from his own clan, Somaliland Journalist Association Chairman Mustafa Abdi Isse told CPJ.
Judge Ali Sudi Diriye found Jama guilty of defaming Somaliland’s chief of police and the head of the Somaliland Electricity Agency by publishing “false and misleading reports” about alleged nepotism within these institutions.
“This sentence has all the hallmarks of summary and punitive justice,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The court should have first established whether or not anyone was defamed and, if they were, a more measured and just penalty should have been imposed. Imprisonment is clearly disproportionate for defamation. We urge the courts to reverse this decision on appeal.”
More “defamation” charges
“Waheen”, part of the Waheen Media Group, is known for its critical coverage of the government, local journalists told CPJ.
Journalists from four other newspapers – “Saxafi”, “Hargeisa Star”, “Ogaal”, and “Yool” – face pending criminal defamation charges brought by the state prosecutor, the National Union of Somali Journalists reported.
Local journalists fear the administration of President Mohamed Silyano has reneged on its 2010 election campaign promises to allow independent news media to work without reprisal.
“Throwing journalists into prison runs counter to the administration’s promises to support a free press and embrace accountability and transparency,” said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. “CPJ urges the Supreme Court to reverse the conviction of Mohamud Abdi Jama on appeal.”
Most dangerous region for journalists
East and Horn of Africa is the most dangerous region in the world for journalists. Out of 145 reporters, editors, and photojournalists held behind bars on 1 December 2010, according to CPJ, 25 are imprisoned in this region.
Somalia is the deadliest place in Africa for journalists. Over the past four years, violence against journalists and other media professionals in Somalia has escalated to an alarming level. While Somalia remains enveloped in armed conflict between the internationally backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and a handful of armed rebel groups, the two largest being al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam, political and security instability in the country has led to pervasive and widespread violence throughout all regions.
According to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUOSJ), between 2007 and 2010, 22 journalists were targeted and murdered specifically for their journalism, 32 were wounded while conducting their journalistic work, 108 journalists were imprisoned, 200 journalists received death threats, and 250 journalists fled the country.
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