The police in the breakaway autonomous region of Somaliland in northern Somalia has arrested Mohamed Abdi Guled, editor of privately-owned weekly Yool appearing in Hargeisa. The journalist is being held on the premises of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has reported.
Several journalists in Hargeisa said that Mohamed Abdi Guled, better known as "Urad", was arrested on February 26 probably as a result of the publication of an article on February 24, exposing planned murder attempts against Somaliland’s parliamentary deputies, leaders of opposition parties and traditional chiefs.
“This arrest is illegal, since Somaliland’s media law lays down that the authorities can only arrest a journalist on the order of a court,” RSF said. “In these circumstances and knowing that no charge has brought against Mohamed Abdi Guled, he should logically be immediately released”, the organisation said.
His fellow journalists also said that the incident, forcing Urad to spend the weekend in custody without going before a court, was aimed at “intimidating the entire journalist community of Somaliland”.
