In Somaliland, the press increasingly in the sights of the authorities

A general view of the city of Hargeisa, in Somaliland, on September 16, 2021. AFP - EDUARDO SOTERAS

Text by: Nadia Ben Mahfoudh

3 mins

On Monday August 22, the Ministry of Information of the separatist region of Somaliland imposed a fine of 10,000 dollars on MMSomaliTV, an independent television in Hargeisa.

The channel and its journalists are accused of illegal work.

If this is not the first time that they have been targeted by the government of the region, the situation is worrying, with the approach of the presidential elections.

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The heavy fine imposed by Somaliland's information ministry on MMSomaliTV, for what the government says is illegal work, is said to be aimed at silencing journalists from the breakaway region's independent media.

For Omar Faruk Osman, the authorities of the territory located in northwestern Somalia want " 

" and want to "

 ".

“ 

 ,” says Omar Faruk Osman, secretary general of the National Union of Somali Journalists to RFI.

Targeted TV

This is not the first time that MMSomaliTV and its journalists have been targeted.

Last May, its director, Mohamed Abdi Ilig, was given a 16-month suspended prison sentence by the Hargeisa Regional Court for "

subversion and spreading fake news”.

Mahamed Adil Ilig appeared in court with two other journalists.

One was acquitted and the other received the same sentence.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) deemed the hearing “ 

”: it was held in the absence of the journalists' lawyers and families.

They were among 14 journalists arrested on 13 April for covering a riot between inmates and guards at Hargeisa central prison.

A wave of " 

 ", according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

In the same evening, the police also went to the headquarters of the Horn Cable TV channel, in order to prevent any dissemination of information relating to these events.

According to RSF, " 

 ".

The secretary general of the National Union of Somali Journalists believes that this is the biggest wave of arrests of journalists in recent years, and points the finger at a police who have failed in their duty to protect journalists.

Large-scale repression

With the November 2022 presidential elections just months away, CPJ warns of the alarming frequency with which authorities target journalists.

The last arrest dates from August 11: 

, two journalists from the private media Horyaal 24 TV, were arrested while covering demonstrations.

To this day, they remain in detention without being charged.

The week before this event, it was the BBC's turn to be worried, accused by the Somaliland authorities of spreading “ 

”.

The British public channel is now banned from broadcasting in the self-proclaimed independent territory.

📣The ban on the BBC in #Somaliland is completely arbitrary.

RSF denounces an unprecedented decision and a grave escalation of the crackdown on journalists in the self-proclaimed independent state.

pic.twitter.com/B6sABF2Nkz

— RSF (@RSF_inter) July 19, 2022

In 2020, the Somali authorities, at the request of RSF, pledged to decree a moratorium on the arrests and detentions of journalists, an initiative supported by the European Parliament.

In 2021, the EU adopted a resolution asking the Somali Prime Minister to implement it as soon as possible, but for the time being the moratorium has not been applied and the arrests of journalists have multiplied.

Somalia ranks 140th out of 180 countries in the latest world press freedom ranking established by RSF in 2022. The country therefore remains one of the most repressive states towards journalists.

According to RSF, it is even the most dangerous territory in Africa: the NGO explains that “

 Since 2010, more than 50 journalists have been killed there.

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