BOSSASO, Somalia Aug 17 (Garowe Online) - A radio reporter in Somalia's Puntland regional government was detained Sunday, Radio Garowe reported.

Mohamed Mohamud "Welcome," the regional director for Radio Daljir, was working at his office in the port city of Bossaso when he received a call from local police.

"The [Bossaso] police commander said he wants to speak with Mohamed [Mohamud "Welcome"] and sent a car for him," said Ahmed Sheikh Mohamed "Tallman," a senior official working with Radio Daljir.

After going to the Bossaso police station, Mr. Welcome was arrested and "not informed" of why he was being arrested, according to Mr. Tallman.

"Is it a crime to broadcast a [presidential] candidate's speech?" he wondered.

But the radio journalist's arrest came after Radio Daljir broadcasted a speech by Nurradin Adan Dirie, a Puntland presidential candidate.

On Saturday, a decree issued from the Office of Puntland President Mohamud "Adde" Muse prohibited local media from broadcasting speeches by candidates running for the Puntland presidency.

'Unconstitutional'

Mr. Dirie, who is running for Puntland president, told Radio Garowe during a Saturday interview that President Muse's decree violates the region's constitution, as well as the constitution of the Transitional Federal Government.

"The Constitution is higher than the President's [Muse] decree," Mr. Dirie said, while defending each candidates' right to campaign for the presidential elections.

Last week, the Puntland administration issued an official decree banning candidates from carrying big weapons and beginning their election campaign until November 1.

Bossaso, the region's commercial center, has become a location where journalists continue to face arrests and threats to their personal lives, according to reporters.

Source: Garowe Online