Somalia: Puntland Journalist Jailed After Criticising President

Nairobi — Authorities in Puntland should immediately release journalist Ahmed Ali Kilwe, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Security forces in Garowe, the administrative capital of the semi-autonomous region of Somalia, have detained Ahmed, the founder of the news website Puntlandone.com, since July 2, according to media reports.

Media reports and three journalists who cover Puntland who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation said they believed Ahmed's arrest was linked to a June 23 Facebook post that Ahmed wrote criticizing the president of Puntland and his use of public funds. In a statement published today, the press freedom group Media Association of Puntland said that senior Puntland officials had told them that counterterrorism police detained Ahmed on the orders of President Abdiweli Ali for "posting articles impertinent to the Puntland president."

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