Somalia criminalizes extremist propaganda, details
The Somali government on Saturday announced it will criminalize the circulation of information from the al-Shaabab terrorist group through traditional media and social media.
Deputy Minister of Information Abdul Rahman al-Adala made the remarks during a press conference to announce a ban on the circulation of all material that constitutes propaganda for the terrorist organization.
The Somali government is now criminalizing the circulation of violent extremist ideology and the propaganda of terrorist organizations as part of the war on terror, al-Adala said.
He warned that anyone who disseminates the group’s propaganda, such as pictures, audio and video, through any social media platform will be held accountable under the law.
Anyone who does not implement the decision is a legitimate target for the security and judicial authorities as per the comprehensive war on terror plan, he said.
The Somali government shut down more than 40 Al-Shabaab propaganda platforms within the last 48 hours, he said, pledging to close down the terrorist group’s news websites.
According to the Somali official, the government is basing this decision on constitutional articles, national communications and media laws, pointing to the government’s pledge to protect freedom of the press and freedom of opinion, and not to confiscate opinions that are contrary to government directives.
The terrorist al-Shabaab movement is not a political party and does not have a political vision that adopts, does not recognize the other opinion and knows only the language of killing, he said.
Observers believe the government’s decision is in favor of an intellectual and media war against the terrorist group al-Shabaab. At the same time, they warned against using it to silence political opposition in the near future under the pretext of the war on terror.
