Puntland releases journalist arrested over minster’s interview

Garowe,29Nov,2015(QJ/SDN)-The semi-autonomous northern Somalia region of Puntland released a television journalist who was arrested after grilled the region’s information minster over wide-ranging political

controversies, colleagues said on Sunday.

Jama Deperani, a presenter with the London-based Somali Channel Television was released Sunday after a public outcry by journalists’ watchdogs and the United Nations, according to Faysal Khalif, the

chairman of Puntland journalists’ union. He was arrested by soldiers in an execution of an arrest warrant issued by the information ministry on November 19.

During the interview, the reporter who hosts a weekly show television that airs interviews with political figures and leaders has asked the minister Mohamud Hassan Soadde multiple questions, with the official who was apparently annoyed by the ‘aggressive’ reporter found it hard to answer some of the questions asked in detail.

Mr. Deperani has spent 11 days in the central jail in Garowe before he was released after the outgoing United Nations Envoy to Somalia Nicholas Kay urged his immediate release.

Journalists in the region often accuse Puntland’s government led by the former Somali prime minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali  Gaas of stepping up pressure on journalists in the region since he was elected as the president last year.

Puntland government has also barred Voice Of America Somali Service from operating its territory, accusing the radio of producing negative reports that instigated instability in the region. The suspension was later lifted by the information ministry after protests by media organizations and journalists.

Media watchdogs often accuse Puntland officials of affronting press freedom in the region by arresting journalists and closed down media stations as journalists often claim censorship and intimidation by

officials, an action which they said constitutes a flagrant violation of freedom of information.

According an annual new CPJ report, Somalia is the most dangerous places media workers operate. Dozens of journalists have been killed in the past few years, forcing many to flee the horn of Africa nation where political parties vying for Somali politics, government and militants are often blamed for journalists’ deaths.

CPJ says 30 journalists have been killed with impunity in the last 10 years alone. Very few perpetrators have been so far been charged with the cold-blood murders which sent shockwaves across media industry.