Somaliland: Government shuts down TV channel, detains director

Hargeisa, Sep 07 – Somaliland government shut down a private TV station on Friday after it broadcasted a TV programme bordering on drug abuse among women.

Security forces raided Horyaal24 TV station, and the staff members working there have been ordered to vacate the main building.

Reports received from sources present at the time of the closure mentioned that no court warrant or other forms of written order was shown to the management of the television.

Following the closure, the director of Horyaal TV Mohamed Osman Mire ‘Sayid’ was detained by the police on Saturday morning.

This closure is coming not too long after a judge in Hargeisa on 3 September ordered internet service providers to block a news website, Hadhwanaag, after the Central Bank Governor registered a formal complaint against the media outlet for publishing reports of allegations of corruption against his person, a report which the Central Bank Governor vehemently denied and dismissed as unfounded.

Human rights groups and media organizations have condemned the blocking of Hadhwaanagnews website, the closure of Horyaal TV, and the detention its director Mr Sayid. They alleged that the government’s intention is to squash the freedom of the press which is enshrined in the country’s constitution.