Somalia most difficult to find justice for killed journalists-report

Justice for journalists killed in Somalia has remained evasive and perpetrators walk scot free, CPJ report notes. File Photo: courtesy

For three years in a row, Somalia has topped the list of the worst country for unsolved murder of journalists as perpetrators go unpunished, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.

The CPJ Impunity Index puts Somalia bottom in the list of countries justice can be delivered for journalists killed in the line of duty noting the situation has continued deteriorating. The impunity rating shot up by 198%, the campaign group said in a report released Tuesday ahead of International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on November 2.

“Justice for over two dozen journalists murdered in Somalia in the past decade is one casualty of prolonged civil war and an insurgency waged by al-Shabaab extremists,” the report said.

The report which documents murders of journalists between September 1, 2007 and August 31, 2017 says 26 journalists were killed with complete impunity in past decade in Somalia.

Journalists face murder from state and non- state actors, the report says pointing fingers at government officials and the militant group Al-Shabaab.

Journalists covering war, politics and culture were main targets, the report says which places Syria and Iraq among the top three while South Sudan comes fourth.

CPJ puts the total number of journalists killed in Somalia since 1992 at 64 with 44 of these targeted for murder. 37 of these were murdered with impunity, the campaign group notes.

In cases where perpetrators were brought to book, CPJ says, the penalties did not meet international human rights standards.

“Somalia has issued the death penalty against at least three individuals accused of murdering journalists, in contrast with international human rights norms.”

“In the past 10 years,” the report says, “Around 30 percent of murdered journalists were first taken captive-higher than the historical average of 22 percent since CPJ began tracking in 1992. The majority of those taken captive are tortured, sending a chilling message to the victims’ colleagues.”