UNESCO condemns murder of Somali journalist Said Tahlil (HornAfrik) Feb. 4

Director-General condemns assassination of Somali journalist Said Tahlil Ahmed

Paris, 9 February

The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today condemned the assassination of Somali journalist Said Tahlil Ahmed who was killed on 4 February.

 

“I condemn the killing of Said Tahlil Ahmed,” said the Director-General. “Said Tahlil Ahmed has paid with his life for exercising his fundamental human right of freedom of expression and for upholding our right to receive information from free and independent journalists. It is essential for democracy, peace and national reconciliation that the authorities spare no effort in seeking to stop attacks on journalists in Somalia.”

Said Tahlil Ahmed, director of Horn Afrik Radio/TV, was shot in the head in the Bakara market of Mogadishu. The Somali Coalition for Freedom of Expression (SOCFEX) has issued a statement linking the murder to HornAfrick’s extensive coverage of the Somali presidential election.

Said Tahlil Ahmed is the second journalist killed in Somalia this year, according to SOCFEX.

UNESCO is the only United Nations agency with a mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom. Article 1 of its Constitution requires the Organization to “further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.” To realize this purpose the Organization is required to “collaborate in the work of advancing the mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples, through all means of mass communication and to that end recommend such international agreements as may be necessary to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image…”

IFJ condemns assassination of HornAfrik director Said Tahliil Ahmed in Mogadishu (Photo)

February 05, 2009

IFJ Condemns Lawlessness in Somalia after Killing of Another Journalist

 

Said Tahliil Ahmed is the second journalist killed in Somalia in 2009

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the murder of Said Tahliil Ahmed, Director of HornAfrik- a radio and television station in the Somali Capital Mogadishu- who was gunned down on 4 February 2009.

“We condemn this murder which is the result of the lawlessness in Somalia,” said Gabriel Baglo, Director of the IFJ Africa Office. “This crime, the second in as many months to claim the life of a journalist in 2009, demonstrates that criminal organisations are on a killing spree in Somalia and that journalists are clearly in their sights.”

According to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), Said was killed near the Bakare market in central Mogadishu by three unidentified gunmen who shot him four times in the head as he was with fellow directors of radio stations.

Other media organisation in Somalia said that militia groups opposed to the peace talks which took place in neighbouring Djibouti, could be linked to Said’s murder because of his station’s extensive coverage of the Somali presidential elections on 30 January 2009.

Some of these groups had reportedly warned media organisations in Somalia against reporting on the peace process.

Said is the second journalist to be killed in Somalia since the start of the year. On 1 January, Hassan Mayow Hassan of Radio Shabelle in Afgooye, south west of Mogadishu was shot dead by a pro-government militia.

“The new Somali authorities must reign in these criminal gangs who are terrorising media”, added Baglo. “There are important stories to report on in Somalia and journalists cannot do their job properly while under threat of death.”

For more information contact the IFJ at + +221 33 867 95 87

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 123 countries worldwide

CPJ report on the murder of HornAfrik director Said Tahlil in Mogadishu Feb. 4

Thu Feb 5, 7:37 AM ET

A Muslim Sheikh leads in prayers for slain journalist Said Tahlil Ahmed, the head of private media house HornAfrik in Mogadishu, February 5, 2009. Gunmen shot dead the head of private media house HornAfrik in Mogadishu in the latest assassination of a journalist in Somalia. Ahmed was killed in Mogadishu’s Bakara market, which is often a battleground for government soldiers and Islamist insurgents, witnesses and colleagues said.REUTERS/Feisal Omar (SOMALIA)

Another murder in Somalia as HornAfrik director is killed

New York, February 4, 2009–The director of HornAfrik, one of Somalia’s leading radio and television stations, was killed by three masked gunmen in the Bakara Market area of Mogadishu on Tuesday afternoon, local journalists told CPJ. The assailants shot Said Tahlil repeatedly as he and six other senior journalists were walking to a meeting with members of the militant Al-Shabaab group. 

“We send our deepest condolences to Said Tahlil’s family and colleagues at HornAfrik,” said CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, Tom Rhodes. “Tahlil and other brave reporters in Mogadishu who continue to work under extremely dangerous conditions must be supported. We call on the new Somali administration make every effort to protect journalists.”

Tahlil had been summoned to a meeting with the Al-Shabaab militia group along with the directors and senior editors of several media houses, journalists in Mogadishu told CPJ. A journalist with Radio Shabelle suffered a minor injury fleeing the scene, local journalists told CPJ.

Local journalists told CPJ that Al-Shabaab had disapproved of local media coverage of the recent Somali presidential elections. Al-Shabaab, among other groups, challenged the legitimacy of the election and did not take part. A spokesman for Al-Shabaab told CPJ today that his group was not behind Tuesday’s murder and said it had asked journalists to help them identify the attackers.

Tahlil, believed to be in his early 50s, was appointed director of HornAfrik after its founder, Ali Sharmarke, was killed in a roadside bomb attack in Mogadishu in August 2007. The popular director was best known for his Friday news program in which he discussed the week’s top issues. Tahlil is survived by his wife and seven children.

HornAfrik went off the air on Tuesday; it has not announced when it will resume broadcasting. Other stations in Mogadishu aired verses from the Quran throughout the day on Wednesday.

Somalia, embroiled in civil conflict for most of the past two decades, is one of the deadliest places in the world for the press. Since 2007, 11 Somali journalists have been slain.

Tahlil is the second Somali journalist killed this year and the fourth HornAfrik journalist killed since 2007. On January 1, Radio Shabelle journalist Hassan Mayow was shot dead in Afgoye, a town just outside of Mogadishu.

Photo: Muslim Imam leads prayer over the body of HornAfrik journalist Sa’id Tahlil assassinated in Mogadishu, Feb. 4

Thu Feb 5, 7:37 AM ET

A Muslim Sheikh leads in prayers for slain journalist Said Tahlil Ahmed, the head of private media house HornAfrik in Mogadishu, February 5, 2009. Gunmen shot dead the head of private media house HornAfrik in Mogadishu in the latest assassination of a journalist in Somalia. Ahmed was killed in Mogadishu’s Bakara market, which is often a battleground for government soldiers and Islamist insurgents, witnesses and colleagues said.REUTERS/Feisal Omar (SOMALIA)

Thu Feb 5, 7:40 PM ET

In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, relatives carry the body of Said Tahlil Ahmed, the director of Somalia’s largest media organization HornAfrik, at a funeral on the outskirts of Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009. The three gunmen killed Ahmed while he was walking through Mogadishu’s largest market, Bakara, on Wednesday the company said in the statement posted on its Web site.(AP Photo/Xinhua, Abdurrahman Warsameh)

Photos: Somali journalist Sa’id Tahlil (HornAfrik) lain to rest after being shot dead by masked gunmen in Mogadishu

Wed Feb 4, 10:47 AM ET

Friends and family members carry the coffin of Said Tahlil Wednesday, Feb. 4 2009 . after he was shot dead by three masked men armed with pistols, in Mogadishu, Somalia. A Somali journalist said masked gunmen killed the director of Somalia’s largest media company at a market in the Somali capital. The journalist said he was with HornAfrik Director Said Tahlil and six other journalists when the gunmen stopped them, took then to a corner and shot Tahlil in the chest. The journalist was speaking on condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor)

Wed Feb 4, 8:55 AM ET

A man covers the slain body of Said Tahlil Ahmed, the head of private media house HornAfrik in Mogadishu, February 4, 2009. Gunmen shot dead the head of private media house HornAfrik in Mogadishu on Wednesday in the latest assassination of a journalist in Somalia. Ahmed was killed in Mogadishu’s Bakara market, which is often a battleground for government soldiers and Islamist insurgents, witnesses and colleagues said.REUTERS/Ismail Taxta (SOMALIA)

Wed Feb 4, 8:53 AM ET

People carry the slain body of Said Tahlil Ahmed, the head of private media house HornAfrik in Mogadishu, February 4, 2009. Gunmen shot dead the head of private media house HornAfrik in Mogadishu on Wednesday in the latest assassination of a journalist in Somalia. Ahmed was killed in Mogadishu’s Bakara market, which is often a battleground for government soldiers and Islamist insurgents, witnesses and colleagues said.REUTERS/Ismail Taxta (SOMALIA)

Yemen gives amnesty to former Somali president Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed

Yemen Grants Asylum to Ex-Somali President

Readers Number : 20

21/01/2009 Yemen has granted political asylum to former Somali president Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, who resigned in late December after a row with his prime minister, a Yemeni presidency source said on Wednesday.    “The president of Yemen granted Somalia’s president the right of political asylum last night,” the source said. The ex-head of state has been given a permanent home in Yemen, which faces Somalia on the other side of the horn of Africa.    Yusuf stepped down on December 29 after having tried and failed to sack Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein. The president’s bid to push Hussein out of his job was thwarted when parliament backed the prime minister with a massive vote of confidence.    Yusuf clashed with Hussein over their approach to the opposition. During his time as president, Yusuf had poor relations with the opposition, who accused him of obstructing the peace process. Conflicts in Somalia and power struggles, which erupted since 1991, have hampered successive initiatives to restore any semblance of order to the country, where the government is facing a military campaign by militant fighters.

Freed reporters tell of mock executions by Somali captors

Mon Jan 5, 8:06 AM ET

A handout provided by the Telegraph of British journalist Colin Freeman (left) and a recent picture of AFP stringer Jose Cendon of Spain. Freeman, held hostage in a Somali “hell-hole” for almost six weeks, told Monday how kidnappers at one point put a gun to his head and acted out a mock execution.

(AFP/HO/File)