Photo/Somali Times
In a statement posted on his Twitter account, EU Ambassador to Somalia Nicolas Berlanga called on the government to stop the persecution of journalists, in order to get a complete picture of the situation in the country.
The statement by the EU ambassador to Somalia, came after a meeting of the international community ambassador and Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire in Mogadishu. In the statement, the ambassador said, “Criticism is part of democracy, and liberalism is not a good thing. Therefore, if journalists are restricted, they are prevented from data, that is not a cure”.
The government, led by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, has been repeatedly accused of media abuses such as the detention of several journalists, some of whom are still in custody and the limitation of data as previously argued by media organizations and human rights organizations.