Somalia: Freedom of Press in Danger

Journalist shot dead in Mogadishu

Brussels, 31 January 2012 (ITUC OnLine): Hassan Osman Abdi, a leading Somalia journalist, was followed from his work place, shot and riddled with bullets on Saturday 28 January. He died on his way to the hospital. The ITUC strongly condemns this murder and calls for urgent measures to stop the attacks on journalists.

Hassan Osman Abdi was the director of Shabelle Media Network. Abdi was involved in the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), as he was branch secretary of the union's Banadir region. He's the third Shabelle Media Network member to be assassinated since 2007 after Bashur Nur Gedi (2007) and Mukhtar Mohamed Hirabe (2009). According to the information received by the NUSOJ, Abdi was probably killed because of his role in reporting on politics and corruption cases.

"Freedom of press is essential for democracy, and journalists must have the possibility to carry out their legitimate work without having to fear for their lives," Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, pointed out.

Somalia is the deadliest country in Africa for journalists.
For more information, see the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) website: http://africa.ifj.org/en/articles/faj-condemns-assassination-of-prominent-journalist-in-somalia

The ITUC represents 175 million workers in 153 countries and territories and has 308 national affiliates.

Website: http://www.ituc-csi.org and http://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI

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