The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate announces monitoring 30 violations of media freedoms, 70 percent of which were committed by the Houthi militia

The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate announced that it had documented a number of violations of media freedoms during the third quarter of this year, noting that these violations confirm the continued risks facing the press and journalists in an unsafe environment surrounding the press and freedom of expression in Yemen.

The Syndicate said in its report on press freedoms in Yemen during the third quarter of 2024, which it launched yesterday, Tuesday, that it had monitored 30 cases of violations of media freedoms from July 1 to September 30, 2024, including 14 cases of deprivation of freedom, representing 47% of the total violations, and 6 cases of trials.

The violations also included summonses of journalists at a rate of 19%, 4 cases of threats and incitement at a rate of 13%, 2 cases of assault at a rate of 7%, 2 cases of confiscation of journalists’ devices at a rate of 7%, and 2 cases of poor detention conditions for detainees at a rate of 7%.

The report indicated that the Houthi group committed 21 violations, representing 70%, while the legitimate government, with all its affiliated formations, committed 9 violations, representing 30% of the total violations.

The union also monitored 14 cases of deprivation of freedom, representing 47% of the total violations, which varied between 10 cases of kidnapping, 3 cases of arrest, and one case of persecution, of which the Houthis committed 10 cases and the government 4 cases.

She pointed out that there are still 14 journalists detained by all parties, including 10 journalists held by the Houthi group: (Wahid Al-Sufi "forcibly disappeared", the employee at Saba Agency Nabil Al-Sadawi, Mohammed Al-Nabahi, Fahd Al-Arhabi, Mohammed Al-Mayahy, Fouad Al-Nahari, the writer Abdul-Wahhab Al-Harasi, the journalist Hassan Al-Halqi, a member of the union, the photographer Jihad Al-Yamani, and the writer Saad Al-Haimi.

There are also still two journalists with the Security Belt Forces in Aden affiliated with the Transitional Council, a partner in the legitimate government, namely Ahmed Maher and Naseh Shaker, and a journalist with Al-Qaeda in Hadhramaut who has been missing since 2015, namely Muhammad Qaid Al-Maqri, and a journalist with the Saudi authorities since August 23, 2021.

The detainees live in difficult conditions and are treated harshly and are deprived of the right to medical treatment, visits and a fair trial. The Syndicate recorded 6 cases of trials and summonses of journalists, representing 24% of the total violations targeting dozens of journalists, of which the government committed 4 cases and the Houthis committed 2 cases.

She pointed out that these trials varied between a death sentence for the owner of Yemen Digital Company, Taha Al-Maamari, a prison sentence for journalist Ahmed Maher, and 3 cases of summonses for journalists.

The Syndicate documented 4 cases of threatening journalists with punishment, representing 16% of the total violations committed by the Houthi group against journalists, in addition to two cases of assault, including an assault on a journalist and a raid on a journalist’s home, with the government committing one case and the Houthis committing one case.

The Syndicate also monitored two cases of confiscation of journalists’ belongings and equipment by the Houthi group, and two cases of poor detention conditions for journalists detained by the Houthi group.

The report concluded that journalists continue to be arrested and harassed by various parties, especially the Houthi group, and that the judiciary continues to be used to punish, terrorize, and try journalists in special state security and terrorism courts.

It also concluded that journalists continue to be subjected to intimidation through threats, attacks and confiscation of their belongings, despite the restrictions that have forced a large number of journalists to stop working or leave their places of residence in search of a safe environment.

The report called on the Houthi group to release 10 journalists, some of whom have been detained for years, and to stop fabricating serious charges against anyone who practices journalism. The detained journalists are (Wahid Al-Sufi, forcibly disappeared, Saba Agency employee Nabil Al-Sadawi, Mohammed Al-Nabahi, Fahd Al-Arhabi, Mohammed Al-Mayahy, Fouad Al-Nahari, writer Abdul-Wahhab Al-Harasi, journalist Hassan Al-Halqi, a member of the union, and writer Saad Al-Haimi).

He also called on the legitimate government to release the journalists detained by the Transitional Council in Aden, namely (Ahmed Maher and Naseh Shaker), and to work to find out the fate of journalist Mohammed Qaed Al-Maqri, who was kidnapped by Al-Qaeda in Hadhramaut and whose fate has remained unknown since 2015.

The Syndicate called on the parties to the conflict to stop harassing journalists and using special courts to terrorize and silence journalists, renewing its demand for the Southern Transitional Council to return the headquarters of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate in Aden and stop the new developments there.