Press Freedom in Somalia in downward spiral: Somalia Annual Press Freedom Report 2023
Mogadishu, Wednesday , May 03, 2023: As part of its mandate, the Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) carries out regular research, monitoring and documentation of incidents and trends of violations against journalists, media workers, media outlets, and other members of the media fraternity carry out their vital daily duties internally, and in collaboration with our partners, local media rights defenders and development partners which aim to promote the safety and protection of Somali journalists.
This annual report presents a summary of key incidents and trends of violations, responsible perpetrators, analysis by region, and recommendations to improve the safety and welfare of journalists. Although FESOJ is unable to list all incidents of violations for both logistical and contextual challenges, this report, therefore, serves to provide an overall, rich picture of the situation of press freedom in Somalia during the reporting period.
In 2022/2023, cases of violations against the media rose sharply. Most violations targeted journalists engaged in the day-to-day reporting activities in the field, this includes coverage of election-related activities such as; Constituent gatherings, protests, candidate press events, and finally reporting on security incidents that have heightened during the volatile election period.
In all these situations, the Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) recorded numerous uncalled-for, heavy-handed responses from various local law enforcement agencies. Police and other security agencies such as NISA carried out brutal clampdowns on press freedom, including physical assaults against reporters, violent raids on media outlets, arbitrary detentions, inflicting damage on press equipment, frequent harassment, and intimidation aimed at silencing the free press.
Since 2017, 18 Somali journalists have been killed, and according to CPJ, Somalia’s fatalities represent more than half of all journalists murdered in Africa.
In the period between May 2022 to May 2023 – FESOJ recorded a total of 107 violations – and out of these, 3 journalists were killed, 11 Journalists were injured, 39 were arrested, 16 suffered violent beatings, restriction or harassment, 4 media outlets were affected by raids, temporary closure, and damage to property, and 34 journalists and media workers, in various regions, had reported to FESOJ about direct threats to their lives, including regular harassment by local authority officials – in most cases, these were reprisals related to their journalistic reporting.
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