A journalist from Somalia who witnessed and survived militia violence from a very young age – and became a human rights defender despite the dangers of government corruption and censorship – recently enjoyed a respite holiday in Jersey.
Abdalle Mumin came to the island as a guest of the Prisoners of Conscience Holiday Fund.
Announcing the visit, the charity said it was “delighted” to report its first beneficiary of 2025, describing Mr Mumin as “a very deserving human rights defender” and an “eminent journalist”.
Mr Mumin is from Somalia, on Africa’s east coast. Born in 1984, he spent most of his young life in an internal displacement camp.
“I witnessed all sorts of human rights violations including the killing of civilians, rape of women and stealing of food aid by the powerful armed militia,” he said.
“It was in this camp where my younger brother was shot dead and I lost my right arm as we were shot by the powerful militia men under the warlords who ruled the city then.
“My mother also died as a result of blood pressure when she was in childbirth as there was no lifesaving healthcare in the displacement camp.”
Mr Mumin said he was “very angry about this violence” and wanted to do something to stop it.
That is when he decided to become a journalist, and has since been informing the public about the violence and corruption of the Somali government – at great personal cost.
“‘Somalia is the most hazardous place in Africa to work as a media professional,” explained Mr Mumin.
“Bombings and gun attacks by the militant group, al-Shabaab, have killed so many of my colleagues over the years. The intolerant and corrupt government officials also target journalists and critics by arresting them and shutting down media houses.
“Only last year, authorities detained 84 journalists and two of them were killed. Journalists covering human rights abuses by state security forces and officials were particularly targeted.
“In 2015, I escaped death and ran into exile when my car was attacked by gunmen from al-Shabaab in Mogadishu, because of my coverage on the death of the group’s commander.”
Mr Mumin was also imprisoned in an underground cell for a total of 44 days for what he says were “absurdly false charges”.
“I experienced both physical and mental torture at the hands of Somali national intelligence agents,” he said.
“I am still remembering women detainees who whispered to me about the rape and sexual abuses they were subjected to by state security forces, children taken out from streets without the knowledge of their families, and men I met who told me about how they had been tortured.”
You can read a fuller interview with Mr Mumin in Saturday’s JEP…