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Somalia: Radio Director Arrested in Puntland
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Garowe Online (Garowe)
9 May 2008
Posted to the web 9 May 2008
Security forces in the semiautonomous Somali territory of Puntland arrested the director-general of Somali Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), an independent broadcaster based in the northern port city of Bossaso.
Mowlid Haji Abdi was at working at his office inside the SBC headquarters when armed police entered the building and demanded to see him Friday morning, an SBC employee said.
The police unit did not have any court paperwork authorizing Mr. Haji Abdi's arrest, but stated that they had "government orders" to detain the radio station's director-general.
The commanding police officer was allowed to privately enter Mr. Haji Abdi's office alone, according to a SBC statement posted online.
But minutes later, the remaining officers jumped over the reception area counter and forcefully entered the back of the building, including the studio room with reporters broadcasting live news.
The SBC director-general was then transported from the building to an undisclosed location, although inside sources suggested that he was taken to a jail inside the port of Bossaso.
Unconfirmed reports indicated to Garowe Online that Mr. Haji Abdi was arrested on the orders of Puntland Security Minister Abdullahi Said Samatar.
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It is not clear why Mr. Samatar ordered the arrest, but Bossaso residents said SBC radio had reported gun battles between unknown militias and Puntland police inside Bossaso for the past two consecutive nights.
Bossaso-based SBC is owned by Ali Abdi Aware, a former Cabinet minister who is now an adviser to President Adde Muse.
The radio station and its Web site has a history of enjoying close relations to the government of Puntland and is nominally viewed as a pro-government news source.
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