Somalia: CFWIJ condemns the police violence against journalist Fardowso Mohamud Sahal

May 17, 2021, Mogadishu – Radio Kulme reporter Fardowso Mohamud Sahal was beaten and attacked by police while covering a protest in Mogadishu on May 16. Her equipment was also confiscated by security forces. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns police violence against Fardowso. The main duty of security forces is to provide a free and safe environment. We demand Somalian officials to ensure journalists’ safety.

According to the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), police attacked a group of journalists who were covering the field. The journalists were reporting the protest of parents of missing young men recruited by the Somali government and sent to Eritrea. Officers prevented the journalists from the scene and ordered them to leave the area. The journalists were also threatened with arrest. 

Fardowso Mohamud was beaten and thrown to the ground during the demonstration and her equipment was seized by Major Sharmaarke and his officers. In the live-stream video, she shared on Facebook that police officers approached the journalist before taking her mobile phone.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns what appears to be a targeted attack by state authorities on a journalist in the field. A free press and permission to peacefully protest, following social distancing rules, in these times, are the rights of Somalian citizens, and the journalist community present in Somali. Any attempt to infringe these rights is cause for deep concern. The Somalian authorities should immediately provide a safer environment to the journalists and return the confiscated equipment of Fardowso.