Somali Journalists Union leaders arrested, taken to unknown location in Jowhar

by: Staff Reporter | 21 October 2021 11:20

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Somali Journalists Union leaders arrested, taken to unknown location in Jowhar

JOWHAR (HORN OBSERVER) - Police in Somalia's Hirshabelle state have arrested the Secretary-General of Somali Journalists Syndicate, Abdalle Ahmed Mumin and Hanad Ali Guled, the union's training Secretary, according to a statement released

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JOWHAR (HORN OBSERVER) - Police in Somalia's Hirshabelle state have arrested the Secretary-General of Somali Journalists Syndicate, Abdalle Ahmed Mumin and Hanad Ali Guled, the union's training Secretary, according to a statement released by SJS

Uniformed Police raided and arrested both officials at a hotel in Jowhar on Thrusday morning around 10:00am, where they were conducting training on enhancing media freedom and safety of journalists with the generous support from Canadian government through Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives.

Both are currentlly held in unknown location.

Mumin and two other SJS officials have travelled to Jowhar town on Tuesday to launch three-day training on Media freedom for 25 journalists in the town.

Mumin was one of the event organizers, which was titled 'Enhancing Media Freedom and Safety of Journalists in Somalia Through Training on Security and Advocacy.' The Somali Journalists Syndicate hosts several similar workshops around Somalia each year.

According to a statement posted on SJS twitter handle, Mumin along with Hanad Ali Guled, the group's training secretary were picked up by authorities while conducting a seminar for reporters about enhancing media freedom.

"SJS condemns the arbitrary arrest of its Secretary General @Cabdalleaxmed and its training secretary Hanad Ali Guled by Hirshabelle police in Jowhar around 10:00am from the hotel where SJS was conducting a training. This is the second incident since yesterday,” the group said.

On Wednesday, Mumin together with the manager of the hotel where the event is taking place were summoned by the police officers in the town.

"At the police HQ, we were taken to a small room where Minister of Interior, Police Chief and few other officials were sitting. Officers harassed the hotel manager, insulted him and threatened (him) with arrest for hosting our journalists' training."

The police allegedly tried to strong-arm Mumin into revealing sensitive information about the workshop participants, including their clan affiliations.

"I intervened to explain our ongoing journalists' safety training. They asked me about the training content, list of participants, clan identities, and our origins. I insisted all these details remain confidential and that we cannot reveal our journalists' identities."

After releasing the hotel owner from custody, Mumin said that three plain-clothed individuals further interrogated him. He said that the officers then demanded his mobile phone and cash, which he refused.