Somali govt takes 2 radio stations off air, arrests journalists

Hiiraan Online
Sunday September 7, 2014

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MOGADISHU, Somalia (HOL) ---Heavily-armed police officers have on Sunday taken two popular radio stations off the air and arrested their journalists in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, after the stations broadcast reports about the militant groups of Al Shabaab.

This is the second time the national police have shut down radio stations in the capital for allegedly airing information the government is not happy with.

The closure of Kulmiye and Simba came after they broadcast a statement by Ali Dhere, the spokesman of Al-Shabaab, in which he announced a successor to the group’s recently slain leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, and also said the Al-Qaeda-linked militants will continue its war against the Somali government backed by tens of thousands of African Union peacekeepers.

The Somali police have recently warned all the media outlets in the capital, Mogadishu, against airing any reports concerning Al -Shabaab or information about the ongoing military operations in the country.

The arrested journalists were taken to the notorious Godka Jila'aw police station in the capital, where three other presenters and administrators from the SKY and Shabeele radio stations, also accused of airing bad news, are currently being held.

The government, especially the ministry of information, is yet to comment on the arrest of the journalists and the closure of their stations. But local journalists described the move as a government attempt to undermine media freedom in the country.

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