Early this year, Amnesty International released a report entitled "We Live in Perpetual Fear," detailing harassment, intimidation, and killings of Somali journalists by al-Shabab, police and various government officials.
A surge in violent attacks, threats, harassment and intimidation of media workers is entrenching Somalia as one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. At least eight journalists have been killed in Somalia since President Farmajo took office. Five died in indiscriminate Al-Shabaab attacks, two were killed by unidentified attackers, and one was shot dead by a federal police officer.
The quest for a positive image has led the authorities in Somalia to embrace repressive tactics that fly in the face of international human rights standards. Journalists said their editors ordered them not to write articles critical of the offices of the President and Prime Minister, or about insecurity, corruption, and human rights violations. Four journalists were fired by their employers for defying censorship orders.
Rampant censorship has forced many journalists to turn to social media to express their opinions, but authorities have set up dedicated teams to monitor and report critical content.
Journalists said government officials often called and aggressively threatened them with dire consequences if they refused to remove critical content from their personal social media accounts.
One journalist was forced out of his job for supporting an opposition politician on his Facebook page. He refused to change his stance, despite coercion by Office of the President staffers, who even contacted one of his former college teachers to persuade him to abandon journalism altogether.
16 Facebook accounts that had been permanently disabled, 13 of them belonging to journalists, between 2018 and 2019, reportedly for violating Facebook “Community Standards.
Facebook must ensure it is not manipulated by the Somalia authorities to undermine the right to freedom of expression, especially ahead of the elections later this year. They must strengthen due diligence when investigating purported abuses of the Community Standards.
President Farmajo must take immediate steps to ensure prompt, thorough, independent and effective investigations into myriad allegations of violations of human rights and media freedom. Those suspected to be responsible must be brought to justice in fair trials.
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