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PRESS RELEASE/ALERT - SOMALIA

2 March 2004

Journalist harassed over radio report

SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ press release:

SOMALIA: Journalist harassed over radio report

New York, March 2, 2004-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the
detention of Abshir Ali Gabre, news editor at the independent Radio Jawhar, who
was recently held overnight on the orders of Somali faction leader Mohamed Omar
Habeeb, also known as Mohamed Dere. Dere is chairman of the self-appointed
Jawhar administration.

Gabre was arrested at the radio station on February 24 at about 8 p.m. and
detained for around 14 hours in connection with a report that he had just
broadcast, according to local journalists' organizations. During the report, the
journalist pointed out that Dere and his allies had signed a January 29 peace
agreement in Kenya, even though he had recently stated that he did not support
the accord.

Somalia has had no central government since the collapse of the Siad Barre
regime in 1991 and is divided between rival faction leaders. Peace talks between
the main faction leaders and the weak, Mogadishu-based Transitional National
Government have been ongoing for more than a year in Kenya. In January, all the
main faction leaders signed an agreement to create a new national parliament
that will in turn elect a president.

Gabre was taken to a police cell and detained overnight. The police station
commander told Gabre that Dere had ordered his arrest, according to the Somali
Journalists Network (SOJON). Gabre was questioned repeatedly about why he had
read the offending report.

Following a recent visit to Jawhar, which is about 56 miles (90 kilometers)
north of the capital, Mogadishu, SOJON said that journalists there were
"censored daily" by Mohamed Dere, with the militia regularly going to Radio
Jawhar, the only station in the region.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information about press conditions
in Somalia, visit www.cpj.org

For further information, contact Africa Program Coordinator Julia Crawford
(x112) or Research Associate Adam Posluns at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY
10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail:
[email protected], [email protected], Internet: http://www.cpj.org/

The information contained in this press release/alert is the sole responsibility
of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit CPJ.
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