The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has officially instituted legal proceedings at Mogadishu's Regional Court to seek court orders for the investigations and prosecution of suspected killers of more than 50 journalists.
On Wednesday, 20 May 2020, NUSOJ presented a petition to Benadir Regional Court in which the union requested the Court to direct the Office of the Attorney General to conduct a prompt, independent and credible investigations into the merciless killings of journalists while the Attorney General Office will be required to present investigated cases to the court within three months.
"We believe that Somalia cannot overcome the oppressive practices against its own journalists that have resulted the entrenchment of the culture of impunity without conducting an effective, speedy and adequate investigations to uncover the truth and seek justice for murdered journalists," said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General.
"Through this court application, we are not only challenging impunity but we also want to advance simultaneously the road to justice and the road to the clarification of the truth, to which the victim journalists and their families and Somali people as a whole are entitled" added Osman.
NUSOJ believes that a strong and unequivocal message must be sent that the judiciary will not tolerate attacks against journalists who continue to bear the brunt of impunity, which represents a double injustice to the victims of crimes of violence and undermines the rule of law.
