“Between a rock and a hard place”- the challenges of being a journalist in Somalia

In the latest episode of Trouble with the Truth, Lana interviews Somali journalist Abdalle Ahmed Mumin. Somalia has an appalling record when it comes to press freedom – more than 70 journalists have been killed since 1992, their murderers enjoying total impunity. Abdalle has received numerous threats because of his reporting and narrowly survived an assassination attempt in 2015. He was forced to hide his family and go into an exile. This made his subsequent return to Somalia particularly extraordinary - not only did he go back to reporting but he also helped to set up the Somali Journalists Syndicate. Abdalle spoke to me about the organisation of his Syndicate’s mission and how their work has been affected by the global pandemic. He also addressed Somalia’s dangerous new Media Law and stressed why the international community should pay attention to what’s happening in Somalia.