The Non-Stop War on Media Freedom in Yemen

Eleven cases of violations against media freedoms were committed in Yemen during January of 2024, the Yemen Media Freedom Observatory said on Tuesday.

The Observatory indicated that the violations included one case of arrest, one case of detention, one case of assault, three cases of threats, and the interrogation and trial of five journalists over publishing cases.

Three cases of violations were committed in Houthi-controlled Sanaa, two cases in the southern separatists-controlled Aden, and one case in Ma'rib, Shabwah, Taiz, Al-Bayda, Al-Mahra and Hadramout each.

It has been nine years since the war on media freedom began in Yemen, and violations against journalists and press freedom continue rising year by year.

Throughout 2023, the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate documented 82 cases of violations committed against journalists, photographers, media outlets, media headquarters, and journalists' property.

The annual report of the Syndicate documented 17 cases of deprivation of freedom, 12 cases of trials and summonses of journalists, and 12 cases of threats and incitement. In addition, the report recorded 10 cases of preventing journalists from practicing their work and closing media outlets and 10 cases of harsh treatment of detainees in 10 cases. Six cases of halting journalists' financial benefits and dismissal were reported in 6 cases, besides 6 cases of raids and attacks.

The report also documented 5 cases of confiscation and looting of the property of journalists and media outlets, two cases of rejecting the enforcement of judicial rulings, and two cases of hacking media websites.

 Since the breakout of the war in 2015, the Media Freedom Observatory has documented over two thousand and four hundred violations against media freedom in Yemen, including 54 cases of killing of journalists, of whom two were female journalists.