SOMALIA: Court rules the imprisonment of newspaper editor for undecided period

Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 07:31:29 +0400
From: Somalia Alerts <alerts@sojonsomalia.org>
Reply-To: alerts@sojonsomalia.org, faruk129@yahoo.com
Subject: UPDATE: Court rules the imprisonment of newspaper editor
for undecided period

UPDATE: Court rules the imprisonment of newspaper editor for undecided period

23/06/2005

A Puntland judge ruled on Thursday, 23 June 2005, that the editor of Shacab
weekly newspaper Mr. Abdi Farah Nur, known Abdi Farey, ought to be transferred
from the police station, where he was being held since last Sunday, to the
Garowe top-security prison.

The ruling in a court in Garowe, the capital of Puntland Regional State in
northeast regions of Somalia, comes after the arrest of Abdi Farey from the
head office of Shacab on 19 June 2005 by two police vehicles and two sedans
with Colonel Abdi Gaani, Garowe police chief.

Although Puntland law states that the alleged person has the right to appear in
a court within 48 hours when arrested, which was not abided, the presiding
judge asked Abdi Farey one question about the reason he recommenced the
newspaper, which was suspended by a presidential decree following a meeting of
Puntland council of ministers, but Abdi Farey defensively said, “I was doing my
job”.

There are other reports from reliable sources who requested anonymity that
reporter Abdirahman Qoondeeye of the Shacab newspaper was arrested with the
editor but in different small rooms. Qoondeeye was also brought to the court,
and both of them only met in the courtroom.

However, the judge, who received allegations against Abdi Farey about breaking
the government’s decision to suspend Shacab, ordered the moving of Abdi from
the police station to the top-security prison for pending investigations, which
will take undecided period. As well, the judge ruled the releasing of
Abdirahman Qoondeeye.

Shacab weekly newspaper, which is a leading independent newspaper in Garowe and
in Puntland regions in general, was suspended by presidential decree on 5th
May. In line with the presidential decree, the suspension is temporary.
Attempts to lift the suspension from traditional elders and intellectuals
failed.

Journalists in Garowe told the Somali Journalists Network that the court’s
decision is a maneuver aimed to detain him for undetermined time since the
authorities fear the recommencement of Shacab if Abdi is freed. Also, sources
believe that the arrest of Abdi Farey is affected by the current political
situation that the top leaders of transitional federal institutions and
Puntland Regional State are engaging.

“The court’s decision is offensive verdict, which encourages the Puntland
officials to continue their suppression,” said SOJON Secretary General Omar
Faruk Osman. “To detain someone for unrevealed period is totally mysterious act
and out of law”. We, Somali journalists, appeal to the Puntland authorities to
go back over their decisions”. “SOJON is launching local and international
campaign for the release of Abdi Farey”

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Press Freedom Monitoring
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Office as part of the office’s roles of monitoring violations of freedom of
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