MOGADISHU, Somalia 24 May, 2025 – The Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) strongly condemns the recent wave of arrests, threats, and intimidation targeting journalists in Mogadishu. Over the past 48 hours, SJS has recorded a disturbing spike of 15 arbitrary detentions, equipment confiscation, and obstruction of media workers by security forces—particularly officers from the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) and the police—as journalists sought to cover public opinion and political developments in the capital.

These actions constitute a blatant assault on press freedom and the public’s right to access and disseminate information. SJS calls on Somali authorities to immediately end these repressive measures and uphold the constitutional rights of journalists.

On Thursday, 22 May, Somali police in Mogadishu briefly arrested three journalists: Abdullahi Yusuf Hassan (reporter for RNN TV), Mohamed Hassan Geedi (cameraman for RNN TV), and Yahye Mohamud Hersi (cameraman for Himilo Somali TV). Two of the journalists told SJS that after their arrest, they were handed over to officers from the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), who then transferred them to the Hodan District Administration office, where they were detained.

Anisa Abdiaziz Hussein, a reporter for Himilo Somali TV who was with the arrested journalists, told SJS she fled on foot after witnessing armed men attacking the journalists. The journalists had been covering a protest by local women meat sellers at the Zoobe Junction in Mogadishu, who were demonstrating against the demolition of their makeshift stalls.

According to the journalists, NISA officers confiscated their equipment and deleted the footage they had recorded. An editor at Himilo Somali TV told SJS they later received a threatening phone call from a NISA officer warning them not to broadcast anything related to the women’s protest or the demolitions. All three journalists said they were released later that afternoon under the condition that they do not publish any content about the protest or the demolitions—an agreement they were forced to accept in order to secure their release.

On Friday night, 23 May, police officers from Galmudug State in South Galkayo arrested online reporter Ali Maalin Nuur after he published a news report on his Facebook page about truck drivers and their vehicles being held at a roadblock outside Galkayo city, Mudug region. In the now-deleted video clip, the journalist reported that armed men at the roadblock—identified as members of the Galmudug security forces—had been demanding additional payments from the truck drivers, causing the trucks to be stranded for several days. Armed police officers raided the journalist’s house on Friday night and arrested him.

Ali Maalin Nuur told SJS that his arrest was ordered by the Governor of Mudug in Galmudug, Abdinasir Abdukadir Abdulle. He told SJS that he was detained overnight at the South Galkayo police station, and his name was not recorded in the occurrence book (OB). He was released on Saturday afternoon after being forced by the officers to delete the video from his Facebook page, which he did. Ali told SJS that he was not taken to court and believed he would not have received justice, as the police had threatened to keep him in custody if he refused to delete the report.  A senior official from the Galmudug State Ministry of Information told SJS that although the journalist had been released, they were following up with the governor who ordered the arrest, which the official described as illegal.

On Saturday, 24 May, agents of Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) briefly detained four journalists in Mogadishu: Abdinasir Abduqadir Salah and Abdinasir Sayid Ali from Shabelle TV, and Abdirahman Abdulle Rooble and Hassan Ahmed Takow from SYL TV.  The journalists were collecting vox-pop interviews from the public on Maka Al-Mukarama Street, asking for opinions on the coalition of opposition politicians who had held an event in Mogadishu the previous day, Friday. They were taken to an open area near the Waberi Police Station, where they were interrogated, threatened, and ordered to delete their footage. Two of the journalists told SJS they were threatened with violence if they continued reporting critically on President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. All four journalists were released without being officially booked or charged at the police station.

On Friday, 23 May, political opposition groups led by former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, former Prime Ministers Hassan Ali Khaire and Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, MP Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, and other members of parliament gathered at a mosque and religious site in Mogadishu. During the gathering, they delivered a public speech—widely broadcast by the media—condemning President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s autocratic actions in relation to the 2026 election. They called on the president to return to constitutional order.

On Saturday, 24 May, NISA agents in Mogadishu briefly arrested seven journalists while they were collecting public opinion on the country’s political situation. Two of the journalists, Ismail Yabarow Hassan and Mohamed Adan Hassan, were working for Somali Cable TV.  Four others—Ja’far Abdirisak Mohamed, Shukri Hashi, Ayanle Abdinur, and Sundus Ali Botan—were working for Goobjoog Media, while the seventh journalist, Abdirahman Ahmed Hassan, is a cameraman for Five Somali TV.

The journalists had been gathering public views on the political developments in Mogadishu and the recent statement by opposition politicians concerning the 2026 election. Somali Cable TV reported that their journalists were stopped by NISA officers and told they were “not allowed to conduct public opinion on the streets.”  All seven journalists had their equipment confiscated and their recorded material deleted. They were also warned not to conduct further interviews with the public. As a result, the journalists returned to their respective media outlets without completing their assignments.

On Saturday, 24 May, Anisa Ahmed Mohamed and Masud Abdirahman Yusuf, both working for Dalbile online TV, were conducting interviews when plain-clothed, armed NISA officers interrupted and chased them away from Maka Al-Mukarama Street. After the journalists left the area, the officers followed them to another location and again disrupted an interview they were conducting with members of the public. The journalists had been asking people for their views on the current political tension, following a recent statement by opposition groups condemning President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s actions in relation to the 2026 election.

Local media reported an increased presence of plain-clothed NISA agents armed with pistols along Maka Al-Mukarama Road, a popular area where journalists often gather public opinion. Journalists have reported their independent reporting has been effectively banned in areas surrounding Maka Al-Mukarama, including KM4. Media also reported the arrest of a prominent tuk-tuk driver and activist, Sayid Ali—commonly known as Saan Miyaa—who had spoken out against the growing suppression of the public by NISA agents.

“In the past 48 hours, we have witnessed a new wave of attacks against journalists in Mogadishu, carried out by members of NISA and the police. The arrest of 14 journalists—13 in Mogadishu and one in Galkayo—along with equipment seizure, deletion of content by the threat of violence and intimidation, marks an alarming escalation of repression that undermines press freedom and the very foundation of democracy in Somalia,” said SJS Secretary General, Abdalle Mumin.

“These attacks on media workers are unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms. As we have said, these violations will not end until the perpetrators are held accountable,” added Mr. Mumin. “All journalists and media organizations need to stand united in defense of our rights and freedoms. We need action now. Let us also remind those behind these attacks that they will not get away with it; if not today, then certainly not tomorrow.”