Including two killings... 92 violations of media freedoms in Yemen during 2022
English - Wednesday 11 January 2023 الساعة 03:57 pm
Aden, NewsYemen:
The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate documented 92 serious violations against media outlets, journalists and media freedoms during the past year, including two murders.
In its annual report on media freedoms in Yemen for the year 2022, the Journalists Syndicate said that 92 cases of violations affected media outlets, journalists, photographers and their belongings from January 1 to December 31.
According to the report, the violations were distributed between 17 cases of assault on journalists and media outlets, at a rate of 20% of the total violations, 15 cases of trial of journalists, at a rate of 16%, 14 cases of detention of freedom against journalists and photographers, at a rate of 15%, and 12 cases of threats and incitement against journalists, at a rate of 13%, and 13 cases Torture and deprivation of detained journalists of the right to medical care and care by 14%, 9 cases of stopping broadcasts by 10%, 3 cases of confiscation of the journalist’s belongings by 3%, 3 cases of cutting the salaries of media workers by 3%, and two cases of killing by 2%, and a case of issuing a blog Functional behavior restricting freedoms by 1%.
Regarding the violating parties, the report indicated that the Houthi militia committed 37 cases of violations, or 40% of the total violations, while the legitimate government with all its formations and bodies committed 35 cases of violations, or 38%, while unknown persons committed 12 cases of violations, or 14%, and the Southern Transitional Council, the partner in the recognized government. Internationally, there were 6 cases with a rate of 7%, and a media outlet committed one case with a rate of 1%, while a political official committed one case with a rate of 1%.
The report confirmed the continued dangers facing the press and journalists in an unsafe and hostile media environment in all of Yemen.
50 killed without punishment
The Syndicate documented two killings of the photographer (Fawaz Al-Hammadi) in Taiz, and (Saber Al-Haidari) in Aden, and recorded these two cases against an unknown person, as a continuation of the impunity of press violators in Yemen.
It indicated that the killing of journalists in Yemen rose to 50 cases from 2011 to December 2022.
The report pointed out that the years 2015, 2016, and 2018 were the deadliest for journalists, as 10 journalists were killed every year, while five journalists were killed in 2011, four journalists were killed in 2021, and three journalists were killed in 2017 and the same in 2020. While two journalists were killed in 2019 and the same in 2022, and one journalist was killed in 2014.
Unprofessional and oppressive code of conduct
The report touched on the issuance of the Houthi militia's code of professional conduct in its areas of control, which included provisions restricting freedoms and restricting the rest of the media work.
The syndicate said that the code has allocated special provisions for dealing with the media and social media that may lead to the closure of the rest of the media, whose tasks include monitoring the performance of public institutions and exposing deficiencies and manifestations of corruption in them.
She added, "The Code contains arbitrary provisions that do not comply with the Right to Information Law, which defines the mechanism for obtaining information, and violates the Press and Publications Law, which guarantees those affected by publication going to court to settle any problems that may arise from the background of publication."
The Journalists Syndicate considered this code a violation of the law and a restriction of freedoms that includes arbitrary provisions, declaring the rejection of all the exclusions and dismissal of journalists and employees in general.
The union's statement warned against this step, which it said "is moving towards separation in the public office, targeting employees and excluding them from their jobs on the basis of their opinions, and imposing activities and practices alien to the nature of the public office."
Conditions of journalists
The report sheds light on the violations that affected journalists at all levels, including illegal trials. It also shed light on the status of the journalistic work environment in terms of legislation, security, professionally and economically.
He explained that 10 journalists are still detained by different parties, including 7 journalists of the Houthi group (Waheed Al-Sufi - forcibly hidden - Abdul Khaleq Imran, Tawfiq Al-Mansouri, Akram Al-Walidi, Harith Hamid, Muhammad Abdo Al-Salahi, Muhammad Ali Al-Junaid), while the journalist Ahmed Maher is still detained. He is detained by the Transitional Council in Aden, while journalist Muhammad Qaid al-Maqri has been forcibly hidden by al-Qaeda in Hadramout since 2015, and Ali Abu Lahoum has been detained by the Saudi authorities for more than a year.
The report indicated that the journalists (Abdul Khaleq Omran, Tawfiq Al-Mansouri, Akram Al-Walidi, and Harith Hameed) are facing an unfair political death sentence that the syndicate rejects and calls for its overthrow, while all the abductees live in harsh detention conditions.
The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate called on the various parties to investigate all crimes committed against journalists and to end the state of impunity.
The Syndicate renewed its demand for the legitimate government to pay the salaries of employees in the official media in the areas it does not control as a moral and legal obligation and to end the complications facing displaced journalists and media professionals.
It also called on the legitimate government to investigate all violations committed by its affiliated bodies, and to work to provide a safe work environment in the areas under its control.
