The government of Somaliland has lifted the ban it imposed on a private TV station operating from London, United Kingdom.
Universal TV had been unable to operate anywhere in the breakaway region of Somaliland for the last six months.
President Muse Bihi Abdi’s administration banned and closed it forcefully in June 2020.
A communiqué from the government dated January 9, 2021 stated that the private TV station was now free to operate.
According to the communiqué from the Ministry of Information, “Universal TV is now free to operate in Somaliland once more with effect from January 10, 2021.”
The initial decision to close the TV station was informed by a belief within government circles that it “deliberately failed to air a live broadcast the president’s speech on Independence Day.”
The lifting of the ban takes place roughly three weeks after authorities released Abdimanan Yusuf, the Managing Director of Astaan TV, from prison.
A local court in Hargeisa had sentenced Yusuf to five years imprisonment towards the end of last year.
Yusuf had only been in jail for a month before the government opted to release him.