The Somali government's systematic harassment of journalists, its closures of media outlets, and its failure to investigate the killing of eight journalists have deeply damaged independent reporting in Somalia, Human Rights Watch said today.
On October 19, two unknown gunmen shot at close range Bashir Nur Gedi, the acting manager of Shabelle Media radio, outside a cafe in Mogadishu. Gedi was the eighth journalist to have been killed in Somalia in 2007. In addition, almost a dozen journalists have been wounded, including during major fighting in Mogadishu, making this the most dangerous year ever for the Somali media.
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