Forty cases of media and journalists’ rights violations have been registered during the first half of 2023, according to a new report published by the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS).

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, the YJS, in condemning the attacks on media freedom and calls on the Yemeni government and other armed groups to release all journalists and media workers in jail.

The violations recorded in the report include eight arrests of journalists, eight cases of media workers that have received threats, seven judicial proceedings opened against media professionals and three physical attacks on journalists, among other breaches. The publication highlights the grim state of media freedom in light of the continued violations of journalists’ rights, exacerbated by the nine-year long civil war. 

According to the report, 45% of the violations are the work of the Yemeni government and its agencies. The Houthi group is the perpetrator of 55% of the violations.

The YJS recalls that five journalists are still imprisoned in the country, after four journalists who were on death row were released in a prisoner exchange on April 16. The journalists who are currently behind bars are Muhammad Qaid al-Maqri, who has been held by Al Qaeda since October 2015; Ahmed Maher who is held by the Transnational Council forces in Aden; Waheed Al-Sufi, who was kidnapped in April 2015; Nabil Al-Sadawi from the Saba Agency and journalist Fahd Al-Arhabi. 

The YJS urged the Yemeni government as well as other armed groups to release all imprisoned journalists and media workers, and take action to end the climate of impunity. It also called on them to return to their rightful owners the union’s headquarters, which have been controlled by the Transnational Council forces in Aden since late February. Doing this will allow journalists to recover their rights and resume their work.