A prominent Somali Journalist Mohamed Ali Mahmoud was reported to be in bad healthy conditions at Mogadishu’s central prison where he has been held since 14th of February this year.

The National Union of Somali Journalists ‘NUSOJ” said in a statement Thursday that it was very shocked about the terrible situation under which the detained journalist is currently living.

“We are calling on Somali government to unconditionally release the journalist Mohamed Ali Mahmoud and compensate him for the cruel and unjustifiable detention” NUSOJ secretary general Omar Faruk Osman said in his statement Thursday.

“Since December last year he was between Al-shabaab and Somali government custodies and that is complete evidence that Somali journalists are always taking the brunt of evil acts by the warring sides in Somalia—they have actually no where to run” NUSOJ secretary general’s statement said.

The 31 year old journalist has a wife and 7 children including a baby girl who was born on Wednesday night this week. NUSOJ said that the detained journalist is being dealt with badly and is suffering from bad healthy conditions.

“No cases were suggested against him and he was not even brought to court—he has only been kept in custody for more than three months, this is an intolerable act so we urge the transitional federal government TFG of Somalia to suddenly free him” NUSOJ secretary general said in his statement.

The Journalist Mohamed Ali Mahmoud was arrested by Al-Shabaab on December 1st 2010 and released on bail on the 17th of January this year, but misfortunately he was detained by Somali government on February 14th and until now he is being held at Mogadishu’s central prison.

Mahmoud is the owner of City voice radio, the sole music radio station in the war-devastated country. He is one of the very few high profile journalists who insisted to remain in the country despite targeted assassinations against top level journalists in Somalia.

In Somalia journalists are similarly arrested, tortured, extorted robbed or most cruelly killed by all sides involved in Somalia’s dirty conflict including Somali government, the Alqaeda-linked Al-shabaab militants and the moderate Islamists themselves.

Somalia is described as one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists to work.

 

 

 

Inta jeer ee la aqristay :4645