Press Freedom

Journalists face arrests and alleged assaults while covering evictions in Somalia and Somaliland

MOGADISHU (Horn Observer) Somali and Somaliland authorities have arrested, detained and allegedly assaulted journalists reporting on forced evictions and other public-interest issues in recent months, according to the Somali Journalists Syndicate, which says the incidents are part of a broader deterioration…

'Your account has been disabled': The new wave of online attacks silencing Somali journalists continues

MOGADISHU, Somalia 26 September 2026 – From fake copyright claims to the memorization of journalists accounts through falsified death certificates and the use of AI bots for mass reporting, coordinated online attacks are becoming an increasingly serious threat as attacks on Somali journalists'…

Spike in online attacks silence Somali journalists in the midst of China and Turkey strategic communications partnership with Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia 14 September 2026 – A number of Somali journalists and media institutions are facing what appears to be a coordinated wave of online attacks targeting the accounts of Somali journalists and media outlets on the weekend, in what appears to be a growing pattern of online repression…

Lesotho: Journalist Kananelo Boloetse Abducted, Beaten and Threatened with Death

Journalist and human rights defender Kananelo Boloetse was abducted from his home in Maseru, assaulted and interrogated about his work. Amnesty International, MISA Lesotho and the International Federation of Journalists are calling for an independent investigation and immediate measures to protect him.

Somalia: Two journalists arrested in Baidoa over Facebook reporting, whereabouts of one of them still unknown

MOGADISHU/BAIDOA, Somalia 10 September 2026 – The Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) calls on authorities in Baidoa, Southwest State, to immediately and unconditionally release local journalist Abdirahman Mohamed Abdi, who has been held since 6 September 2026 at an unknown location in Baidoa following…

Somaliland arrests two journalists and a poet in two weeks over criticism of president Abdirahman Irro

MOGADISHU, Somalia 9 September 2026 – The Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) calls on Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi "Irro" to order the immediate and unconditional release of journalists Abdiqani Hussein Abokor and Hassan Saleban Harun, as well as poet Ismail Yusuf Abdi,…

Switzerland plans deportation of seriously injured Somali citizen

Switzerland intends to forcibly deport a seriously injured Somali citizen and father of children living in Europe. The competent Somali authorities are going along with this.

Somali journalist Bashir Mohamed Abdullahi dies after being shot during Baidoa clashes

MOGADISHU, Somalia 7 September 2026 – The Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) expresses its deepest condolences over the death of journalist Bashir Mohamed Abdullahi, also known as Bashir Moalin, a reporter with the local Arlaadi Media Network, who succumbed to gunshot injuries sustained during armed…

Somalia: Local journalist among 71 civilians injured in Baidoa fighting

MOGADISHU, Somalia 4 September 2026 – The Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) is deeply concerned by the shooting of dozens of civilians in Baidoa, Southwest State, Somalia, during a renewed fighting on Thursday, 3 September, and particularly by the serious injury of journalist Bashir Mohamed Abdullahi,…

Somalia: The Killer Who Was Also a Journalist — And the Method That Didn't Die With Him

On April 11, 2016, a firing squad at a police academy in Mogadishu killed Hassan Hanafi Hajji. He had been one of Somalia's most trusted radio voices. For nearly ten years, he used that trust to help al-Shabaab.