MOGADISHU (SD) – Somalia’s spy chief, Fahad Yasin and Abdinur Mohamed Ahmed, Villa Somalia’s Deputy Chief of Staff are in hot soup after a media house based Somali capital lodged case against the two over a raid on Radio Mustaqbal late last month.

Spy boss and a top presidential aide were accused of conspiracy to attack the station for allegedly reporting last Month’s Mogadishu violence and terming Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo as the outgoing president.

Mustaqbal Media which filed the lawsuit through Heegan Law, a Mogadishu-based firm had presented its case at the Attorney General’s Office on May 3 to coincide with World Press Freedom Day.

The two-page document says two played a crucial role in directing the unlawful attack on Mustaqbal’s offices on the morning of April 27

The move was supported by the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) and Somali Media Association (SOMA), two local media watchdogs based in Mogadishu.

“We, SJS and SOMA, support our colleagues at Radio Mustaqbal and its journalists in their quest for justice. We believe that the only way to stop impunity for the attacks and abuses against journalists and media houses is to prosecute the perpetrators— even if they are powerful government officials,” the statement reads in part.

Last month, Somalia’s Turkish trained elite forces had raided Mustaqbal Media, the privately-owned radio.

According to journalists and management of Mustaqbal Media, the trained paramilitary forces, Haram’ad entered the radio premises in K4 area at 6:00am and ordered the staff on duty to come down at gunpoint, where they beat and harassed radio editor Bashir Mohamud Yusuf before confiscating desktops, laptops, phones and cameras. The radio was put off-air subsequently.

“The Haramad police entered our building this morning. They beat me with the gun and I sustained bruises on my chest and back. When they saw my journalist Identification Card, one officer even cocked his gun and threatened to kill me. They entered the office and confiscated computers, laptops, phones and cameras,” Bashir said.

Prior the raid Radio Mustaqbal had covered several incidents in the capital including gunfight and street protests between security forces backing the federal government of Somalia and military forces backing the opposition — who oppose president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo’s term extension — in Mogadishu since. K4, where the radio locates, is among neighborhoods where both sides clashed.