SAFETY OF JOURNALISTS IN SOMALIA

Motion Text

That this House is concerned about the ongoing threats to, and arrests and killing of journalists in Somalia; condemns the mass arrest of journalists without charge in Somaliland; believes that these arrests are an attempt to intimidate journalists into notcovering news stories critical of the governing authorities; is appalled at the killing of journalist Abdisalan Sheik Hassan, who was shot dead on 18 December 2011; equally condemns the killing of journalists Farah Hasan Sahel, Noramfaizul Mohd Nor and Abdiaziz Ahmed Aden, who were killed in 2011; supports the efforts of the National Union of Somali Journalists andits members who perform a crucial role in reporting in Somalia against a background of violence and intimidation for carrying out their jobs; and urges the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to raise the issues of organised and continuing threats against journalists in Somalia as a matter of urgency with the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia.