MOGADISHU, Somalia 18 April, 2024 – The Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) welcomes the release of journalist and SYL TV founder, Hussein Abdulle Mohamed, who had gone missing late on Tuesday, 16 April, 2024, after being summoned for a meeting with the director of the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) in Mogadishu.
According to the journalist and other sources, Hussein was taken from a hotel near the NISA headquarters at around 4:00 PM on Tuesday. Following a meeting that lasted only 8 minutes inside the NISA headquarters at the Habar Khadijo building in Mogadishu’s Shibis District, he was transferred to the notorious Godka Jilacow facility, where he was held overnight. He was released late on Wednesday.
“Thanks God. I got my freedom after 24 hours of kidnapping,” Hussein wrote on his Facebook page upon his freedom.
Hussein recently published several reports exposing NISA, including one detailing expected sackings within the agency and another revealing an abandoned borehole on the city outskirts allegedly used by security forces to dump of the bodies of assassination victims. Some of these reports have been deleted from SYLT TV platforms and Hussein’s Facebook page.
SJS expresses deep concern that under NISA’s new leadership, attacks on journalists have resumed instead of conducting reforms. SJS and its leadership have been among the victims of NISA’s gross human rights violations in the past.
“We are relieved to have our colleague back at work after his 24-hour disappearance. No charges were filed against him. He was detained in a cell for 24 hours without contact with family or lawyers. This is a gross violation,” said SJS Secretary General Abdalle Mumin. “We urge the new leadership of NISA to cease threats and censorship of journalists reporting on its misconduct. Journalists play a crucial role in ensuring accountability for the actions of security apparatuses, including NISA and other agencies. They should be allowed to carry out their work without fear of threats or intimidation.”