Journalists’ group urges Houthis to rescind death sentence against Yemeni media worker

AL-MUKALLA: The International Federation of Journalists on Tuesday demanded that the Houthis reverse the death sentence issued against a Yemeni media worker and stop harassing journalists in areas under their control.
The federation said the militia sentenced Taha Ahmed Rashid Al-Maamari, the owner of Yemen Digital Media and Yemen Live for Media Production and Satellite Broadcasting, to death and confiscated his property. It also accused it of using the judiciary to harass journalists and media workers both inside and outside the country.
“We condemn the tactics carried out by the de facto authorities in Sanaa, including the arbitrary sentencing against our colleague Al-Maamari, which only seeks to prevent journalists from doing their jobs and to discourage media owners from investing in the media industry in Yemen,” IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said in a statement.
Last month, a Houthi court in Sanaa sentenced Al-Maamari to death and ordered the confiscation of his property, including a house and media company, on charges of collaborating with Houthi opponents. The decision was condemned by the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate, Yemeni government officials and activists.
Bellanger urged the Houthis to rescind the sentence and return Al-Maamari’s property. He also issued an appeal to the global community.
“We call on the international community and journalists’ groups across the world to advocate for overturning the unjust ruling and campaigning for the release of all imprisoned journalists in the country,” he said.
Al-Maamari, who has lived in Spain since 2015, has repeatedly denied the Houthis’ accusations, which began in 2018 when the group raided his company’s offices and seized equipment.
Since seizing power in Yemen a decade ago, the Houthis have shut down dozens of media outlets, abducted journalists, tried and sentenced some to death, and forced many others to flee areas under their control.
The militia recently abducted hundreds of Yemenis, including several journalists, for celebrating the 1962 revolution online or waving the Yemeni flag in Sanaa and other Houthi-controlled cities.
On Tuesday, the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate said the Houthis were still holding 10 journalists. It demanded their release and urged the militia to stop leveling “fabricated” charges against journalists.
Meanwhile, Rashad Al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, said on Wednesday that the expected reopening of the Russian Embassy in the southern city of Aden, Yemen’s interim capital, would boost the country’s decades-long relationship with Russia, according to news agency SABA.
During a meeting with Alexander Kinshak, director of the Middle East and North Africa at the Russian Foreign Ministry, who is currently visiting Aden, Al-Alimi expressed his hope that reopening the embassy would help calm hostilities, strengthen Yemen’s relations with Russia, unite the international community behind the Yemeni government and help confront Houthi attacks on ships.
Yemeni officials said Russia planned to open an embassy in Aden early next year.
The news came as foreign diplomatic delegations from Russia, the EU and Norway were visiting Aden to meet Al-Alimi, his government and members of the public.
The internationally recognized Yemeni government has urged countries to reopen their embassies and diplomatic missions in Aden, saying that its military and security forces have restored peace and security to the city after years of insecurity, explosions and assassinations.