February 1, 12

NEWS / Somalia: UN envoy deplores murder of radio station director

1 February 2012 –
The United Nations envoy for Somalia has strongly condemned the recent murder of radio station director Hassan Osman Abdi and called on the authorities to carry out an investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“I am shocked and saddened by the killing of Hassan Abdi, one of the most prominent journalists in Somalia,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Augustine P. Mahiga, stated in a news release.

Mr. Abdi, 29, a journalist and director of Radio Shabelle, was shot dead on 28 January in Mogadishu, the capital of the Horn of Africa nation. His murder has also drawn the condemnation of the head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova.

Mr. Mahiga, who is head of the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), welcomed the public condemnation of the killing by Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and called on the Transitional Federal Government to conduct a “full, independent investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.”

UNPOS is working with the Transitional Federal Government and its offices in providing constitutional guarantees necessary to safeguard freedom of expression and the protection of journalists in the country.

“Fostering media independence and pluralism is an essential part of the process of establishing lasting peace and stability in Somalia,” stated Mr. Mahiga.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=41097&Cr=journalist&Cr1=