Somalia: Egregious media rights violations: Somalia Annual Press Freedom Report 2022
Mogadishu, Tuesday, May 03, 2022: The Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) as part of its mandate 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. This vital work, which is carried out on daily basis internally, and in collaboration with our partners – local media rights defenders and development partners – is aimed at promoting 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. For both logistical and contextual challenges, FESOJ is unable to list all incidents of violations, this report therefore serves to provide an overall, rich picture understanding of the situation of press freedom in Somalia during the reporting period.
In 2021/2022, cases of violations against the media rose sharply. Most violations targeted journalists engaged in the day to day reporting activities in the field, this include coverage of election related activities such as constituent gatherings, protests, candidate press events and finally, reporting on security incidents which has heightened during the volatile election period. In all these situations, the Federation of Somali journalists (FESOJ) recorded numerous uncalled for, heavy-handed response 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’s, frequent harassment and intimidation aimed at silencing the free press. Since 2017, 15 Somali journalists were killed, and according to CPJ, Somalia’s fatalities represents more than half of all journalists murdered in Africa.
In the period between May, 2021 to May, 2022 – FESOJ recorded a total of 98 violations – and out of these, 1 journalist was killed, 53were arrested, 37 suffered violent beatings, injuries or harassment, 7 media outlets were affected by raids, temporary closure, and damage to property, and 16 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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