The International Press Institute is concerned at reports that two journalists from Radio Horyaal in Somaliland have been fined and narrowly avoided a six-month prison sentence for “disseminating information that resulted in loss of life and property.”

Somaliland’s Hargeisa Regional Court on Sunday reportedly sentenced the two journalists, Mohamed Osman Mire and Ahmed Suleyman Dhuhul, to prison terms of six months each and a fine of 300,000 Somaliland shillings, or $US45. Under a Somaliland law that allows defendants to buy off prison time of less than a year, they were able to avoid serving prison time by paying a fine of 2,500,000 Somaliland shillings, or $US373.

The journalists appeared in court four times between their arrest on 13 July and the sentencing on Sunday.

As earlier reported by IPI, the two journalists – director and news editor, respectively, of Radio Horyaal – were arrested on 13 July by police officers who allegedly didn’t have a warrant.

The arrests came after the broadcasters covered failed talks between the president of Somaliland, Dahir Rayale Kahin, and elders from Somaliland’s Gabiley province. At an earlier hearing, the defense produced as a witness a tribal elder present at the meeting who stated before the court that nothing in the defendants’ 10 July broadcast incited violence.

Press freedom in Somalia is notoriously weak, with independent and opposition outlets frequently subjected to harassment. Just a few days after the arrests of the two Radio Horyaal journalists, independent broadcaster HCTV was banned in a judgment by Sheik Hussein Warfa Sigad, reversing a decision taken the day before by the Harseiga Regional Court.

On 2 June 2009, the Somaliland Globe newspaper reported that six Somaliland army officers had been detained for listening to Radio Horyaal broadcasts. The Somaliland Military Command has reportedly issued orders banning members of the armed forces from listening to Radio Horyaal.

IPI is concerned that the arrest and detention of Mire and Dhuhul, and the suspension of broadcaster HCTV, are part of an attempt to clamp down on the independent media in the run up to presidential elections in September.

Speaking to IPI after the arrests in July, Media Rights Somaliland (MeRiS) Director Mukhtar HassaMukhtar said: “Many people, including opposition parties, are saying this is a sign that the government would like to suppress independent media before the September elections.”

IPI Deputy Director Michael Kudlak said: “The arrest and conviction of these two journalists, coupled with the closing down of HCTV, is a worrying sign that media freedom in Somaliland is under severe threat. We urge the government to reopen HCTV and to refrain from prosecuting journalists who are simply doing their job.”