Somalia: Call for action in case of murdered journalist

JOINT ACTION - SOMALIA

Participants at IFEX General Meeting call for action in case of murdered journalist

**For further information on the Peyton case, see IFEX alerts of 8 February 2006 and 7 June 2005**

(IFEX) - The following letter to Somali authorities was issued at the IFEX General Meeting in Brussels, 19-24 February 2006, and is endorsed by the signatories below:

H.E. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
President of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia

H.E. Sharif Hassan Sheik Adan
Speaker of Transitional Federal Parliament of Somalia

H.E. Ali Mohamed Ghedi
Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia

Your Excellencies,

We, the undersigned press freedom and freedom of _expression organizations meeting in Brussels, Belgium, for the General Meeting of the International Freedom of _Expression eXchange (IFEX), demand a proper investigation into the 9 February 2005 killing of BBC journalist Kate Peyton in Mogadishu, in order that those responsible be brought to justice.

Ms Kate Peyton, 39, was entering the Hotel Sahafi when two masked men drove by in a vehicle and shot her in the back. She and BBC reporter Peter Greste had just arrived in the capital to cover a delegation of officials, led by Speaker of Transitional Federal Parliament Sharif Hassan Sheik Adan, who were visiting the capital to assess conditions for relocating the exiled Somali government back to Mogadishu from Nairobi. Bodyguards had accompanied them as a protection, however, that protection was not enough.

The two murderers are living freely and fearlessly in the capital city. We are aware that the Somali government condemned the killing as an "act of savagery" and offered a reward for information leading to the capture of Peyton's killers. But we need from you, as leaders, to ensure that investigations will be carried out properly so as to bring to an end to the impunity that the perpetrators are benefiting from.

Therefore, we urge you to end the unpunished crime about the murder of British journalist Kate Peyton.

Sincerely,

Adil Soz, Kazakhstan
Africa Free Media Foundation (AFMF), Kenya
Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo.net)
ARTICLE 19, UK
Canadian Journalists for Free _Expression (CJFE)
Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES), Nepal
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), Philippines
Center For Media Studies and Peace Building (CEMESP), Liberia
Centre for Independent Journalism, Malaysia
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), USA
CREDO, UK
Ethiopian Free Press Journalists' Association (EFJA)
Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ)
Free Media Movement (FMM), Sri Lanka
Freedom House, USA
Globe International, Mongolia
Hong Kong Journalists Association
Index on Censorship, UK
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
IPS Communications Foundation (BIANET), Turkey
Journalists' Trade Union (JuHI), Azerbaijan
Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), Australia
Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Ghana
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Namibia
Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Nigeria
Media Watch, Bangladesh
National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ)
Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)
Reporters sans frontières (RSF)
Somali Free _Expression Coalition (SOFEXCO)
Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
Thai Journalists Association
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC)
World Press Freedom Committee

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