The New York-based global press freedom
watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Friday called for
the release of two detained Somali journalists, Mohamed Bashir and an
unnamed female reporter who alleged she was raped.
In a statement received here by PANA, CPJ said Somali authorities
arrested the two journalists, one of them the victim of an alleged rape,
on Wednesday in Mogadishu, the capital, and charged them with
defamation in connection with a report on the alleged rape.
'This is not the first time in Somalia that the victim of an alleged
rape and a messenger are harassed or imprisoned for reporting such
allegations,' Tom Rhodes, CPJ East Africa Representative, remarked.
'We call on authorities to release Mohamed Bashir and the victim of
the alleged rape, and to ensure a transparent and efficient
investigation into the allegations,' Rhodes said.
According to the press freedom watchdog, in a video, which was posted
online earlier this week, Radio Shabelle journalist Mohamed Bashir
interviewed a female reporter of the Kasmo Voice Women Radio.
The reporter alleged that she was raped at gunpoint and was assaulted by two journalists from the state-owned Radio Mogadishu.
The woman reportedly named her alleged attackers in the video. But
the accused persons were said to have denied the allegations and then
filed a defamation suit.
CPJ said Mohamed and the victim of the alleged rape have been
detained at Somalia's Central Investigations Department headquarters.
CPJ also recalled that in February, a Mogadishu court sentenced a
victim of an alleged rape and freelance journalist, Abdiaziz Abdinuur,
who interviewed her to one year in jail each, but released them on
appeal two months later.