Somalia: Seventy-two press freedom violations documented in 2025

On 20 April 2026, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), an affiliate of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), published its State of the Media Report for 2025, documenting 72 violations of press freedom across Somalia. The IFJ joins NUSOJ in calling for an end to impunity and the criminalisation of journalists, and urges Somalia to implement legislation to protect journalists and improve their working conditions.

Two female journalists working for Bilan Media. Credit: HASAN ALI ELMI / AFP

The report documents 69 attacks on journalists and two attacks on media outlets, as well as the killing of journalist Mohammed Abukar Mohammed on 18 March 2025. This represents a total of 72 violations of press freedom.

The motives behind these violations underline the specific pressure being imposed on journalists reporting on public and political issues such as "protests, political developments, security operations and issues related to land evictions and corruption."

The report highlights a concentration of the attacks in the Banadir region, where the capital city Mogadishu is located, and temporal peaks that coincide with public and political developments.

The NUSOJ has documented 11 different types of violations, the most widespread being arbitrary arrest and intimidation. Another alarming finding is that the majority of these violations are committed by the police forces, in full impunity. The report also draws attention to systemic sexual and gender-based violence against women journalists: 29 cases highlight violence perpetrated in newsrooms or public and digital spaces. NUSOJ emphasises that many cases are not reported.

Journalists in Somalia work under extremely precarious conditions, are underpaid, and are subject to legal proceedings.

The report concludes with seven urgent recommendations: an end to impunity; legal reforms; improvement of working conditions; clear monitoring, reporting, and sanctioning of gender-based violence; stronger institutional protection of journalists and press freedom; implementation of the National Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists; plus additional training and capacity building initiatives to support the professional development of journalists.

In the report, NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman said, "Protecting media freedom is not only about safeguarding journalists. It is about protecting the right of all citizens to access information and to participate in public life."

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger added, "NUSOJ's report is another clear illustration of the difficulties facing our colleagues in Somalia as well as the urgent work that needs to be done to sustain press freedom and journalists' rights in newsrooms and in the field. We demand an end to all forms of attacks against journalists and the end of impunity, which are a systematic means of silencing the truth.