Somalia: Journalist Ahmed Yusuf Suleman Survives Attempted Murder
National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) 5 January 2018
Mohamed Abdi Mohamed, Director General of HornCable TV, during the 24th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, 24 September 2013Mohamed Abdi Mohamed, Director General of HornCable TV, during the 24th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, 24 September 2013
Jean-Marc Ferré via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
This statement was originally published on nusoj.org on 5 January 2018.
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has today strongly condemned a murder attempt against journalist Ahmed Yusuf Suleman, a reporter for privately owned HornCable TV in Mogadishu.
Around 20hrs on 4 January 2018, shortly after Suleman left his house in Waberi district, two men armed with pistols trailed him for some 7 minutes when they commenced firing off four shots towards Suleman. The journalist tried to run for his life but they stopped him; one of the armed men pointed the pistol at Suleman's head in close range, attempting to shoot him multiple times but luckily the pistol malfunctioned. When the second armed man wanted to fire his pistol, the journalist could no longer hold back; he lunged at the armed man and held his hand holding the weapon until police officers who had heard earlier shots and were stationed in the neighbourhood came to the scene.
The police reportedly identified the two armed men as plainclothes officers of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) and informed the NISA officers that the journalist is a local resident of Waberi district. When asked, the NISA officers claimed that they suspected the journalist was a "terrorist" and had been following him for days. Suleman opened a criminal complait case at Waberi police station against the two officers for attempted murder.
"Our colleague Ahmed Yusuf Suleman is very lucky to be alive in such a perilous situation, and we are very happy that the worst did not happen," said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General. "Nonetheless claiming that a known journalist who is watched by many people on television was a suspected 'terrorist' and therefore warranted the action of armed intelligence officers to pursue him to the point of endangering his life is outrageous and wholly unacceptable. The suspected officers of this attempted murder must face the full force of the law."
Mohamed Abdi Mohamed, Director General of HornCable TV, during the 24th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, 24 September 2013Mohamed Abdi Mohamed, Director General of HornCable TV, during the 24th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, 24 September 2013
Jean-Marc Ferré via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
This statement was originally published on nusoj.org on 5 January 2018.
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has today strongly condemned a murder attempt against journalist Ahmed Yusuf Suleman, a reporter for privately owned HornCable TV in Mogadishu.
Around 20hrs on 4 January 2018, shortly after Suleman left his house in Waberi district, two men armed with pistols trailed him for some 7 minutes when they commenced firing off four shots towards Suleman. The journalist tried to run for his life but they stopped him; one of the armed men pointed the pistol at Suleman's head in close range, attempting to shoot him multiple times but luckily the pistol malfunctioned. When the second armed man wanted to fire his pistol, the journalist could no longer hold back; he lunged at the armed man and held his hand holding the weapon until police officers who had heard earlier shots and were stationed in the neighbourhood came to the scene.
The police reportedly identified the two armed men as plainclothes officers of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) and informed the NISA officers that the journalist is a local resident of Waberi district. When asked, the NISA officers claimed that they suspected the journalist was a "terrorist" and had been following him for days. Suleman opened a criminal complait case at Waberi police station against the two officers for attempted murder.
"Our colleague Ahmed Yusuf Suleman is very lucky to be alive in such a perilous situation, and we are very happy that the worst did not happen," said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General. "Nonetheless claiming that a known journalist who is watched by many people on television was a suspected 'terrorist' and therefore warranted the action of armed intelligence officers to pursue him to the point of endangering his life is outrageous and wholly unacceptable. The suspected officers of this attempted murder must face the full force of the law."
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