Tuesday August 5, 2025
CCTV footage captured on August 3, 2025, shows Somali police detaining journalists outside SMS TV’s headquarters in Mogadishu. The image shows uniformed officers confronting members of the media as they returned from covering a protest in Siinaay Market. SMS TV alleges the officers were part of the Haramcad police unit. (Photo: Courtesy of SMS TV)
Mogadishu (HOL) — Somali police have detained three journalists from SMS TV without charge after the station aired a report alleging government-linked land seizures in Mogadishu’s Siinaay market, according to the broadcaster and media watchdogs.
The arrests occurred on Sunday during an armed raid on the station’s headquarters, which was captured on CCTV and posted on X by SMS TV, days after the report aired.
SMS TV Director Hassan Adde said the station began receiving threats from security personnel shortly after the broadcast. “Now, three of our colleagues have been taken, and no one will tell us where they are being held,” he said Sunday. The station later confirmed two colleagues are in custody.
On Monday, Aug. 4, SMS TV journalist Abdi Aziz said he located two of the detainees at Hamar Jajab District Prison, where they were being held alongside people accused of unrelated offences. He said neither journalist had appeared in court or been informed of charges.
In a separate statement posted on X on Monday, the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) identified the detained journalists as Mahad Mohamed Abdirahman of Daash Somali TV, and Hussein Isse Mohamed and Osman Abdullahi Mohamed, both from SMS TV. The union said the three were forcibly taken by gunmen wearing police uniforms outside the gate of SMS TV’s headquarters on Sunday. “CCTV footage shows the officers riding in machine gun-mounted vehicles belonging to the Turkish-trained Haramcad police unit,” the statement said. The journalists had just returned from covering a protest in Siinaay Market, where residents and MPs demonstrated against evictions allegedly linked to politically connected land-grabbers.
“Targeting journalists for exposing misconduct is a clear violation of their rights and undermines democratic accountability,” the union added, calling for their immediate release.
File photos of SMS TV journalists Hussein Isse Mohamed (left) and Osman Abdullahi Mohamed (right), who were among three journalists detained during an armed police raid on the station’s headquarters in Mogadishu on August 3, 2025. Both reporters had just returned from an assignment covering protests when they were taken into custody. (Photo: Courtesy of SMS TV)
Somalia remains one of the most dangerous countries for media workers. Since mid-March 2025, at least 41 journalists have been arrested, harassed, or assaulted by Somali security personnel, according to data compiled by local press freedom groups and the Committee to Protect Journalists. Most of the violations occurred in Mogadishu and were tied to coverage of national security issues, including protests, government military operations, and reports on Al-Shabaab. In several cases, journalists were briefly detained or threatened for posting content online, conducting street interviews, or covering attacks on government forces. Rights groups say the growing crackdown is part of a broader effort by authorities to control public discourse and suppress critical reporting.
In a separate report marking World Press Freedom Day, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) documented 25 serious media freedom violations in 2024, most involving arbitrary arrest and detention used as tools of intimidation rather than law enforcement. The report found that more than 80% of these violations were committed by police and security agencies, underscoring a systemic pattern of abuse by state actors.
The Somali Police Force did not respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of Information has also not issued a statement.