In his first comments on the case of Haatuf journalists that are being held in jail by his government, President Rayale has put forward new charges that are different from the ones which his government originally leveled against Haatuf reporters. President Rayale’s first comment was in response to a question from the Somali Service of the Voice of America which asked him about the UN’s criticism of his government’s detention of Haatuf journalists for more than a month and half without trial, and if that doesn’t mean his government is against the freedom of expression. President Rayale answered that he is not against the freedom of expression, but if a reporter has committed a crime then being a reporter will not absolve him from his crime. Although President Rayale did not explain the nature of the crime that the reporters were involved in, his answer does give the impression that it is some other crime that is apart from practicing their constitutional rights of publishing their views.

President Rayale continued this line of argument in his second comment which was disclosed by the Chairman of UCID party, Mr Faysal Ali Waraabe. In an interview with Hadhwanaagnews, Mr Faysal Ali Waraabe mentioned that he talked with the president about the case of the detained Haatuf journalists and told him how it has become an embarrassment for Somaliland. According to Faysal Ali Waraabe, the response that he got from the president was “hadii uu qofka suxufiga ahi Joonyad xaddo ma waxaynu odhanaynaa halagu qaado xeerkii saxaafadda, sow ma aha arin dembi ah (if a reporter steals a sack are we going to say he should be tried based on the Press Law? Isn’t it a criminal case?). In this answer, the President has gone a step further than the first one. Here he explicitly mentions that the journalists are being held for a criminal case similar to theft which has nothing to do with journalists practicing their trade.

The president’s comments show that he has not learned anything from this episode and is still continuing to employ the same dishonest methods that have led to the destruction of his credibility. Instead of leveling with the people and admitting his mistakes, he wants to convince the world that Haatuf journalists have committed a crime other than writing about his corruption. Yes a crime, many crimes, were committed, but by him, not Haatuf.

Source: Somaliland Times