ioL.co.za
May 06 2010 at 12:25AM
New York - Three gunmen shot dead veteran broadcast journalist Sheik Nur Mohamed Abkey on Tuesday evening as he was returning home from work at the state-run Radio Mogadishu, local journalists told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Gunmen abducted Abkey near his residence in Wardhigley, southern Mogadishu, and shot him repeatedly in the head. Local journalists said they suspect Abkey was tortured after finding his body dumped in an alley in Wardhigley.
Al-Shabaab insurgents phoned journalists at Radio Mogadishu on Tuesday evening to tell them they had killed Abkey, local journalists told the CPJ.
Journalists at Radio Mogadishu said they suspect he was killed for his affiliation with the government-run station. Most local radio stations in the capital, Mogadishu, did not report the incident, fearing retribution by the insurgents, local journalists told CPJ.
Gunmen abducted Abkey near his residence in Wardhigley, southern Mogadishu, and shot him repeatedly in the head. Local journalists said they suspect Abkey was tortured after finding his body dumped in an alley in Wardhigley.
Al-Shabaab insurgents phoned journalists at Radio Mogadishu on Tuesday evening to tell them they had killed Abkey, local journalists told the CPJ.
Journalists at Radio Mogadishu said they suspect he was killed for his affiliation with the government-run station. Most local radio stations in the capital, Mogadishu, did not report the incident, fearing retribution by the insurgents, local journalists told CPJ.
Abkey, said by the station to be in his early 60s, was a news monitor and researcher for Radio Mogadishu and helped coach the younger staff. "He was my mentor, he taught all of us, but at the same time he was so humble and friendly," one local journalist who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his safety told CPJ.
Abkey joined the profession in 1988 as a reporter with the former Somali National News Agency and had worked for several media houses in Mogadishu including HornAfrik Radio, the Somali Television Network, East Africa Radio, the National Union of Somali Journalists reported. He refused to be intimidated by the warring factions in Mogadishu and moved freely throughout the city, local journalists told CPJ. Colleagues at Radio Mogadishu had encouraged Abkey to live at the station for security but the veteran journalist insisted on living in an area controlled by insurgents, Somalieweyn online reported.
