A BBC World Service journalist working in Somalia was due to collect an award from parliament this month for courageous journalism but was denied entry to the UK.

Somali journalist Mohamed Olad Hassan was expected in the UK to receive the Speaker Abbot award from the Speaker of the House of Commons on 14 June (2010) in recognition of his reporting from Mogadishu, but his application for a visa to enter the UK was rejected.

According to a UK border control spokesperson, one of the reasons Hassan’s visa application was turned down was his failure to declare a second Ethiopian passport, which gave a different name and different place and date of birth from that in his Somalian passport.

“We are disappointed Mohamed Olad Hassan is unable to receive this honour from the Speaker of the Mother of all Parliaments in person. His brave journalism in Somalia has reflected well on the BBC and Britain in this difficult region for news reporting; his work fully deserves this honour,” a BBC World Service spokeswoman told Journalism.co.uk.

The BBC would not comment further on the reasons given by UK Border Agency for rejecting Hassan’s visa application.

Writing on his blog, Lord Eric Avebury, one of the award’s judges, says he was told “at second hand” that Hassan’s visa application had been rejected because he failed to submit payslips showing his BBC earnings. This was not mentioned in the statement given to Journalism.co.uk by the UKBA.

“We must establish an agreed protocol for ensuring that in future years problems over visas for the Abbot award winners don’t prevent them attending at the last moment,” writes Avebury.

Speaking to Tribune Magazine, which sponsors the award, Hassan said: “I am really very grateful for the award and the support it gives to me. I am surprised at the denial of a visa to a journalist working with the BBC in Somalia for seven years and in possession of an official, documented invitation to meet the Speaker.

“I am Somali and have a Somali passport. The Border Agency officials in Nairobi where I applied repeatedly asked me why I wanted asylum in the UK, which was very ridiculous.”

Hassan, who has previously worked for domestic broadcasters Somali Television Network and Radio Horn Afrik as well as international news agencies spoke to Journalism.co.uk about the dangers of working as a journalist in Somalia.

Jerry Timmins, head of Africa Region and International Relations for the BBC World Service, who received the award on his behalf, described his work as “a magnificent and courageous job for the BBC”: “He is a classic example of BBC World Service journalism, where our reporters live amidst the story, providing vital, powerfully objective and independent news – often from places where other journalists find it very difficult to operate effectively.”

Source: http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/539306.php

…
BBC reporter and award-winner is refused British entry visa

A BBC reporter has been refused entry to the UK to collect a Parliamentary award for services to press and democratic freedom. Mohamed Olad Hassan, the main English language correspondent in Mogadishu for the BBC World Service, was chosen to receive the Speaker Abbott award by a panel of senior Parliamentarians, Speaker John Bercow and ……

A BBC reporter has been refused entry to the UK to collect a Parliamentary award for services to press and democratic freedom. Mohamed Olad Hassan, the main English language correspondent in Mogadishu for the BBC World Service, was chosen to receive the Speaker Abbott award by a panel of senior Parliamentarians, Speaker John Bercow and Tribune, which sponsors the award.

But his flight, and a two-week programme of events and meetings organised by the Parliamentary Press Gallery, which instituted and organises the award, had to be abandoned when the British High Commission in Nairobi, Kenya, rejected his visa application.

The award was accepted on Olad’s behalf by his colleague, Head of the World Service Africa Region Jerry Timmins, who told a reception in the Speaker’s House: “Olad sees this as an award not just for him but for all those who support him in his work and all the other journalists around the world who put their lives at risk to report the truth.”

Mr Bercow said: “Olad has suffered physically and from the constant threat to his security yet he is determined to perform his duty.”

Olad told Tribune: “I am really very grateful for the award and the support it gives to me. I am surprised at the denial of a visa to a journalist working with the BBC in Somalia for seven years and in possession of an official, documented invitation to meet the Speaker.

“I am Somali and have a Somali passport. The Border Agency officials in Nairobi where I applied repeatedly asked me why I wanted asylum in the UK, which was very ridiculous.”

The Home Office said that Olad had failed to supply required information to secure a visa, such as proof of earnings. Ministers would not have been able to intervene unless and until an application had been properly processed.

The award is named after Speaker Abbot who in May 1803, at the height of the Napoleonic wars, first ruled that part of the House of Commons chamber should be reserved in future for the Press. Previous winners have included journalists from Sudan, Liberia, Syria, Iran and Russi

Source: http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/