DEFENDING THE DEFENDERS ; Anisa Ahmed arrested for reporting on worsening Insecurity and robbery by uniformed armed forces

Mogadishu Woman Journalist Arrested and Physically Assaulted After Exposing Armed Robbery by Uniformed Men - SJS

PHOTO: Anisa Ahmed.

MOGADISHU, Somalia – 28 August 2025 – The Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) condemns the unlawful arrest and physical assault of woman journalist Anisa Ahmed, who works for the online channel Dalbile TV, by members of the Mogadishu police. Anisa has since been released without charge.

Anisa told SJS that on Tuesday night 26 August, she was contacted by a police commander from Waaberi police station in Mogadishu, where her television has a studio. The officer summoned her in response to an alleged complaint filed by another police commander from Dayniile district. 

On Wednesday morning 27 August, at around 9:30 a.m. local time, when she reported to Waaberi police station, she was held for an hour and her phone was confiscated. Armed men later arrived and forcibly pushed her into a waiting police vehicle. When she tried to ask where she was being taken, two armed officers physically assaulted her, grabbing her by the neck and threatening to strangle her if she resisted.

According to Anisa, she was transferred to Dayniile police station, located on the northwestern side of Mogadishu, where she was interrogated about her recent reports on insecurity and armed robbery. She was locked in a dark cell until nearly 6:00 p.m. local time.

Dalbile TV manager, Mushtaq Qanyare, who is based in the UK, told SJS that Anisa had recently filed two reports highlighting the worsening insecurity in Dayniile district, including incidents where "armed men in government uniforms were robbing civilians". Anisa herself had also been a victim of robbery by government forces. These reports first published on 23 August, seemed to have angered Dayniile district officials, who demanded that Dalbile TV remove them, but the station refused.

While being detained at the Dayniile police station, Anisa said she was shocked to see "dozens of kidnapped civilians” held there, including local shopkeepers subjected to extortion and bribery demands in exchange for their release. Anisa recounted that one young shopowner told her he had been "held for 45 days without charge and that his family had been forced to pay US$ 400 for his release, yet he remained in custody”.

Although Anisa herself was not charged, she remained locked in the police cell for the entire day.

"At one point they photographed me and forced me to sign a police statement, which they claimed was mine. But when I read it, I saw they had inserted false information and fabricated crimes against me. I refused to sign, and they began threatening me,” she told SJS.

Later in the afternoon, a member of the Somali Federal Parliament’s Lower House intervened. The Dayniile police commander, Captain Ahmed Ali Yalahow, who had ordered her arrest told Anisa that he was informed "she belonged to his clan”, which led to her immediate release.

Yalahow did not respond to SJS calls. However, SJS reviewed a statement he posted on his personal Facebook account on 25 August two days after the Dalbile TV’s report. In the post, Captain Yalahow appeared to acknowledge the armed robbery in his district and even urged locals to report such incidents to the police.

After her release, Anisa wrote about her ordeal on Facebook, but she said she was pressured to remove it, which she did. She told SJS that the Dayniile police commander, Captain Yalahow, had contacted her family, who then pressured her to take it down for her own safety.

"We strongly condemn the unlawful arrest and assault of our colleague Anisa Ahmed. Such blatant abuse of power by the police against a young woman journalist is unacceptable and must not go unpunished. We demand full accountability for those responsible for this unlawful detention and physical assault,” said SJS Secretary General, Abdalle Mumin.

"Instead of addressing the real problems of insecurity and the armed robbery, the authorities in Mogadishu are targeting the messengers who dare to expose the truth. The ongoing threats and intimidation against independent journalists show that speaking out about the harrowing ordeal the Mogadishu population is enduring has become extremely dangerous—not only for journalists but also for ordinary citizens. When press freedom no longer exists, the public’s right to know dies,” Mr. Mumin adds.

original story link- https://hornobserver.com/articles/3469/Mogadishu-Woman-Journalist-Arrested-and-Physically-Assaulted-After-Exposing-Armed-Robbery-by-Uniformed-Men-SJS