The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Houthi rebels’ abduction of at least four Yemeni journalists and media workers in the western port city of Hodeidah, and the sentencing of journalist Mohamed Al-Miyahi to one and half years in jail for criticizing the rebels’ leader.
According to CPJ, Local press freedom groups said those abducted between May 21 and 23 included:
• Abduljabbar Zayad, freelance photographer
• Hassan Ziyad, journalist with London-based newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed
• Abdulaziz Al-Noum, Director of the Soorah Media Production Center,
• Walid Ali Ghalib, deputy head of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate
“The kidnapping of at least four Yemeni journalists and media workers and the sentence issued against Mohamed Al-Miyahi exemplify the Houthis’ escalating assault on press freedom,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “We call on Houthis to immediately release all detained journalists and stop weaponizing the law and courts to legitimize their repression of independent voices.”
CPJ has criticized the establishment of parallel justice systems by non-state groups, like the Houthis, as they are widely seen as lacking impartiality.