MOGADISHU, Somalia, 05 January, 2021 – Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) condemns the raid on Radio Barawe and the arrest of its journalist Osman Aweys Bahar by South West State police in Barawe, Lower Shabelle region on Saturday 2 January, 2021. SJS calls for authorities to immediately release the journalist and allow Radio Barawe back on air.
According to local journalists, on Saturday about 10:00am (local time), about 10 armed police officers raided the premises of Radio Barawe, a local community radio in the coastal town of Barawe and ordered the radio off-air. The armed officers also detained journalist Osman Aweys Bahar. He is currently held at the Barawe police station.
Radio Barawe journalists told SJS the arrest of journalist Bahar and the radio closure followed after a news report broadcasted by Radio Barawe 30 December 2020, which featured complaints of local elders, youth and women about the marginalisation of Barawe residents in both government services and development projects.
On Monday, Barawe police commissioner Abdukadir Adan Mohamed told SJS that he was ordered to arrest the journalist by top South West officials in Baidoa without naming them, and that he was not able “to comment further on Mr. Bahar’s case pending investigations”. Local journalists and Barawe community advocates told SJS that South West Speaker of Parliament, Ali Said Faqi, who was mentioned in the Radio Barawe’s 30 December report, was the one who ordered the closure of the radio and detention of its journalist.
When SJS contacted the South West Speaker of Parliament, Mr Faqi did not respond. However, Barawe District Commissioner, Omar Sheikh Abdi told SJS that authorities were preparing a criminal case against journalist Bahar for “insulting government officials”.
On 20 April last year, authorities in Barawe banned Radio Barawe’s unique local Baravanese (Chimwiini or Chimbalazi) dialect programming under what seemed to be a politically motivated order from the South West State officials. Despite Radio Barawe resumed its broadcasting days later, journalists and editors reported that authorities continued to monitor them in an attempt to pressure the radio staff.
“We condemn the raid on Radio Barawe and the arbitrary arrest of journalist Osman Aweys Bahar who was targeted for only reporting the complaints of the people of Barawe. SJS calls for South West State authorities to free journalist Bahar and allow Radio Barawe, a radio owned by the local community, to operate without harassment,” Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, the Secretary General of Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) said.
SJS is extremely concerned by the continued and unexplained detention of free-lance journalist, Kilwe Adan who was detained on 27 December 2020 and held in undisclosed location in Garowe, the capital of Puntland a day after he covered the 26 December anti-inflation rates protest in Garowe.
We call for Puntland authorities to immediately free journalist Kilwe and allow him to carry out his journalistic duties without reprisals.