An international human rights organization says a journalist is being detained without charge in Somalia for speaking about the imprisonment of a fellow reporter.

Human Rights Watch said in a statement released late Monday that the detention of Daud Abdi Daud without charge is sending a broader message to journalists to stay silent.

According to the rights group, last week, when a Mogadishu court handed down one-year prison sentences to a woman who said she was raped by security forces and a reporter who interviewed her, Daud spoke out in court saying that journalists have the right to interview people.

Human Rights Watch has asked Somali authorities to immediately charge or release Daud. Press organizations say Somalia is one of the world's most dangerous countries in which to practice journalism.