According to a joint press release from the Darmstadt Public Prosecutor’s Office and the South Hesse Police Headquarters, Mohamed Aweys Muudey, 68, an asylum seeker who had fled Somalia, was stabbed inside his communal accommodation by a 28-year-old suspect who is now in police custody.

Muudey left Somalia in search of safety and protection. However, his life was cut short in a violent knife attack, highlighting the dangers many journalists in exile continue to face.

He spent several years in prison in Ethiopia where he was arrested while seeking protection in 2014 before he was pardoned.

Muudey was a veteran sports and music journalist and was known for his live coverage of Somalia’s inter-regional tournaments in the 1980s. He worked for state-owned Radio Mogadishu before the civil war.

In the early 1990s and late 2000s, Muudey worked for Radio Banadir, one of the first independent radio stations in Mogadishu. He later fled the country and sought asylum in Germany, colleagues told SJS.

"We are saddened and shocked by the news of the killing of journalist Mohamed Aweys Muudey, popularly known as Boqorka Bartamaha, in Darmstadt, Germany, on Friday night. We mourn his death and extend our condolences to Muudey’s family following this shocking and violent death. "The stabbing of Muudey in Germany, one of the safest countries in Europe, reminds us that journalists are not necessarily safe even when they are in exile,” said SJS President Mohamed Ibrahim.

"As the Darmstadt Police and the Darmstadt Public Prosecutor’s Office have announced a full investigation into the case, we urge the authorities to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Muudey’s death and to ensure that justice is served,” added Mr. Mohamed.

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