Qatar’s strongman in Somalia giving the media a hard time

Ahmed Adel

Qatar’s strongman in Somalia, Fahd Yasin, who was a correspondent of the Qatari news channel al-Jazeera and is now the head of the Somali intelligence agency, keeps giving a hard time to those who criticize the way the Somali government manages the country’s affairs.

Yasin always accuses those criticizing the government of abetting the terrorist al-Shabaab movement.

Yasin especially targets the media and journalists. He recently accused journalist Haroun Maarouf, who is specialized in terrorist groups and works for the Voice of America, of backing terrorism.

The Somali intelligence agency said recently that it is ready to take legal action against Maarouf. It started interrogating the journalist in early March, according to the New Somalia news site.

Maarouf has a strong following on social media. He produced important reports about security and terrorism in East Africa. He coauthored a book about the al-Shaabab movement.

Maarouf also presents a program on the Voice of America in which he talks about rampant corruption inside Somali institutions and the failure of the country’s security establishment in uncovering this corruption.

On April 5, the American Embassy in Mogadishu issued a statement in which it referred to the charges leveled against Maarouf.

It said the charges pose dangers to freedom of speech and media independence in Somalia.

It described Maarouf as a professional journalist and one of the most influential in Somalia.

Meanwhile, the Somali Journalists Syndicate rejected the charges leveled against Maarouf. It described these charges as baseless. The syndicate also expressed concern over what it described as the new tactics of Somali authorities, ones primarily targeting the journalists.