Somali authorities have been stepping up their intimidation of journalists as the country faces a growing number of Covid-19 cases. Since mid-April 2020 alone, authorities arbitrarily detained three journalists, accused two of various crimes, and prohibited a local radio station from broadcasting in a local dialect and according to a new report from Amnesty, Facebook is also silencing Somali journalists.
“Somalia has always been a hostile environment for journalists but this year the situation was extreme as authorities stepped up their intimidation of journalists and specially this time when our country faces the spread of the novel coronavirus,” Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimu, Secretary General of the Federation of Somali Journalists, told Voice of America.
Somalia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. Many risk their lives to cover the country’s conflict, where government forces are pitted against the armed group Al-Shabaab. To make matters worse they often face reprisals from either side. Journalists reporting critically on the government risk government blacklisting, harassment and censorship but they also face death at the hands of Al Shabaab should they report negatively on the armed group’s activities.
In 2019, for the fifth year running, Somalia topped the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) Global Impunity Index of countries where those who kill journalists are not prosecuted – making it among the world’s most dangerous places to be a journalist.
On 24 April, the police briefly held Farhan Mohamed Hussein, a reporter with Radio Kulmiye, who were covering a sudden outbreak of protests against the police, after the police fatally shot two people during a coronavirus curfew.
On 20 April, in the town of Baidoa, the authorities detained a Voice of America reporter, Mukhtar Mohamed Atosh, and held him for two nights before releasing him. A court document stated that he was under investigation on charges of “publication of false, exaggerated news” and “giving false alarm to the authorities.” On the same day, a community radio station, Radio Barawe, was forced to stop broadcasting programs in Barwani, the local dialect.
On 14 April, the police summoned Abdiaziz Ahmed Gurbiye, the chief editor and deputy director of the private Goobjoog Media Group, to the Hodan police station in Mogadishu, where there was a warrant for his arrest. This followed two posts on his Facebook pages criticising the Somali government’s response to the Covid-19 crisis.
“Somali authorities should stop jailing and harassing journalists at the very time when getting the news is crucial,” demanded Laetitia Bader, Horn of Africa director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement. “An independent media protected from abuse is key to ensuring that Somalis have information to make informed decisions during the pandemic.”
According to the recent Amnesty report, social media platforms such as Facebook offer a lifeline for communities to receive independent news directly from Somali journalists. Yet many leading Somali journalists have been silenced by Facebook.
Amnesty talked to Ali Adan Mumin, an independent journalist, who woke up to an email from Facebook on 16 June 2019, informing him that he had suddenly become ineligible to use the platform and that the decision was final. After pressing Facebook for an explanation, he was told his account had been shut down due to purported violations of Facebook’s Community Standards.
“I had around 60,000 followers and I lost my account just like that. I think someone from the government reported me to Facebook. I no longer have access to my account, I have to start it from scratch, it is not fair,” Ali Adan Mumin told Amnesty.
Surprisingly, nine other leading Somali journalists received the exact same message from Facebook that day: the tech giant had decided to shut out these journalists from public debate in Somalia and has not given a reason why.
“Individuals deserve to know how and why their accounts are flagged for purported violations of Facebook Community Standards and should be able to engage in a timely and genuine appeal process with Facebook,” Amnesty International said in a statement.
As of 30 April, Somalia had 601 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 28 deaths reported. The country is also scheduled to hold general elections in late 2020 or early 2021, possibly the country’s first open election in 50 years.
“The free flow of information is especially important in addressing and curbing the Covid-19 pandemic,” Bader said. “The government should be encouraging coverage of the pandemic and taking to heart people’s concerns and fears, rather than trying to stop the flow of information.”