Officers from the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) picked up Somali Journalists Syndicate Secretary General Abdalle Mumin at Aden Adde Airport on October 11,2022 and detained him in an unspecified location. The circumstances surrounding Mumin’s arrest to date remain unclear although the Ministry of Information said in a statement on October 12, 2022 that the journalist and media rights activist was arrested ‘on security grounds.’

Mumin was subsequently brought before the National Prosecutor on October 13, 2022 but there were no charges preferred yet. Mumin remains in the hands of NISA with no formal charges pressed against him.

Independence House is gravely concerned by this blatant violation of citizen rights through arbitray arrests and detention without trial. The arrest also impedes Mumin’s journalistic work and is an affront to media freedom and freedom of expression.

We therefore call on NISA and all the relevant government agencies to unconditionally release Mumin or present him before a court of law should there be any charges against him. The arrest of Mumin adds to increasing violations, intimidation and harassment of journalists by security agencies in Somalia. Such actions not only grossly offend the law but also casts aspersions on the new administration’s commitment to upholding rule of law and protecting the rights of citizens and more so journalists.

About Independence House
Independence House is a not-for-profit organization based in Somalia with the core mandate of protecting and promoting political rights, freedom of expression and advancing democracy in Somalia and the Horn of Africa.