The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) condemns in
the strongest terms possible to the harsh sentence handed down to two
journalists and newspaper license revoking in the Hargeysa regional Court on
Wednesday morning, 25 June, 2014, around 7:00am local time, the latest in a
string of violence against the journalists and media institutions in Somalia.
The regional court of Hargeysa sentenced Yusuf Abdi Gabobe,
chairman of the Haatuf Media Network was is in custody and Ahmed Ali Igeh,
chief editor of the network 3 years each and 50 Million Somaliland Shilings of
fine which is equivalent to $8,000 US Dollars. The court also revoked the
newspaper licenses, according to Mohamed Boosh, a journalist in Hargeysa
Ahmed Ali Igeh reportedly went into hiding following the
court verdict on Wednesday morning, while Somaliland police arrested Yusuf Abdi
Gabobe on 14 June, 2014.
According to local journalists in Hargeysa confirmed to
NUSOJ that the journalists were not allowed to defend or their families were
not notified for the court hearing to attend, making the worst crime against
the media freedom and the freedom of expression in Somalia. Read Full Article
