In response to yesterday’s killing of Radio Daljir reporter Farhan Jemiis Abdulle by two gunmen on the eve of World Press Freedom Day, Amnesty International’s Somalia researcher Benedicte Goderiaux said:
“Farhan Jemiis Abdulle is the sixth journalist to die in a targeted killing in Somalia in the past six months, and the second journalist shot dead in Galkayo in Central Somalia this year.
“His death is a shocking reminder of the price that Somali journalists continue to pay for working in such a dangerous environment, and of the impunity that those responsible for killing journalists continue to enjoy in Somalia.
“His killing should act as a wake-up call for the Somali authorities throughout the country to fully investigate all killings of journalists, take measures to protect media workers and respect press freedom.
“Given the failure so far of the Somali authorities to bring to justice anyone for the killings of at least 28 journalists since 2007, the international community must not only help rebuild the national justice system, but also take concrete measures to tackle impunity, including by establishing a Commission of Inquiry into human rights abuses in Somalia.”