Yemeni media organization: 2,250 violations against journalists since Houthi coup

JEDDAH: A report issued on Friday by the National Organization of Yemeni Media “Sada” revealed that 2,250 cases of violation against journalists and media workers, and their institutions, were recorded since the Houthi militia coup against the legitimate government in Yemen until the end of December 2017.

In its report titled “Price of Abandonment,” the organization — according to the official Saba news agency — held the Iranian-backed Houthi militia accountable for 85 percent of documented violations against journalists in 21 Yemeni governorates.

It said the capital Sanaa, under militias control, topped the list of documented violations with 88 percent.

According to the report, 20 types of violations committed by the Houthi militia against media workers were recorded.

These violations included “abduction, enforced disappearance, murder, physical assault, targeting of houses, occupation of media institutions, and security prosecution.”

Over the past three years, the Houthi militia has been reported to have killed 22 journalists through sniping, using them as human shields, and 141 journalists have been kidnapped, the report said.

The report also showed that “Houthi-controlled Sanaa ranked first in documented violations with 1,972 cases, while Taiz governorate came second with 81 cases.”

In the period between 2015 and the end of 2017, according to the report, in Marib governorate, 219 journalists and media staff accounted for 40 percent of 544 journalists displaced by Houthi militia.

The report called on the legitimate government to pressure the United Nations and international organizations to do more to release and stop the torture of the journalists abducted by the Houthi militia.