IFEX
Source: National Union of Somali Journalists
(NUSOJ/IFEX) - 22 November 2012 - Untamed impunity has had a great
bearing on journalists and media practitioners in Somalia, the National
Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) said in a groundbreaking report
released today, on the eve of the International Day to End Impunity, 23
November 2012. Hostilities and threats have cultivated an environment of
terror and insecurity that has slowed down independent journalism and
promoted self-censorship as a form of protection.
The report, "Impunity: War on Somalia's Journalists", details the
victimisation of journalists and the accompanying impunity enjoyed by
the perpetrators, which have been particularly prevalent since 2007 when
remnants of the Islamic Courts Union and hard-line Islamic militants,
driven out of Mogadishu at the end of December 2006, started a war
against the allied forces of the Transitional Federal Government and the
Ethiopian army, and later against the African Union peacekeeping
forces.
"The perpetrators of violence against journalists are able to escape
punishment for their crimes, and, without fear of consequences, the
culprits continue to carry out such acts," said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ
Secretary General.
Forty-four media practitioners, all male and most of whom worked for
broadcast media, were killed in Somalia between January 2007 and
October 2012. Eighteen media workers were killed in the first 10 months
of 2012, making this the deadliest year to practice journalism in
Somalia, according to the report, which was released to observe the
International Day to End Impunity as declared by the Toronto-based
International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) and its affiliated
organisations, including NUSOJ.
"The report of the National Union of Somali Journalists, 'Impunity:
War on Somalia's Journalists', underscores the magnitude of the campaign
of violence against Somali journalists and calls on the new Somali
government to ensure that thorough and transparent investigations will
lead to the arrest and trial of those who commit these crimes," said
Etienne de Poncins, the French ambassador to Kenya and Somalia.
Read the entire press release
Download "Impunity: War on Somalia's Journalists":
NUSOJ_Impunity.pdf (1354 KB)