Hargeysa, Somaliland, July 18, 2009 (SL Times) – Somaliland police jailed two Horyaal Radio journalists. Police officers took the two journalists from the office of Horyaal Radio in Hargeysa on July 13, 2009. The two journalists are the Director of the Radio, Muhammad Osman Mire (Sayid) and the head of the News Section, Ahmed Suleiman Dhuhul. The arrest of the two journalists was in contravention of the legal guidelines because it was done without a warrant. The government had accused the media of having incited the killings that took place in Ceelbardale.
Somaliland’s government also suspended the operations of Horn Cable Tv. Initially, the attorney general’s request to suspend the TV was refused by the Hargeysa Region court. But the government appealed the ruling to the Hargeysa Region Appeals Court, headed by Sheikh Hussein Warfa Sigad, and the original ruling was overturned.
Many local and international observers have decried the jailing of the two journalists and the suspension of the independent television, especially at a time when the country is getting ready for presidential election. The government’s action also comes on the heels of a report by Human Rights Watch which was critical of Somaliland government’s treatment of the independent media.
 

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