Thursday December 24, 2020
BELEDWEYNE (HOL) - Somali media watchdogs have called for the immediate release of two journalists who were arrested by the police in Beledweyne town of Hiiraan region in the last 24 hours.
Abdikadir Farah Dulyar, a freelance journalist was apprehended last night after police officers stormed his hotel in the town. Reports say his detention came after interviewing militia leader Gen Abukar Hud outside the city.
Hud leads a faction calling itself Hiiraan Rescue Council (HRC) who is protesting the election of Ali Guudlaawe as the president of HirShabelle, arguing his election violated clan power matrix.
The police also arrested Mohamed Osman Makaran, the director of Hiiraanweyn Media who visited Dulyar at the police station. The circumstances surrounding his arrest is not yet clear.
The Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) and Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) condemned the arbitrary arrest of the journalists. They urged the authorities to release him immediately.
The authorities in Hiiraan region did comment on the arrest of the journalists.