Hardly a year of the coup goes by without leaving behind bad memories and it carries with it many violations in various aspects of citizens’ lives, which are violations that the Houthis actively master in to be added to their very dark records.

The violations committed against the press and journalists represent a large percentage of the total Houthi violations. The past period has witnessed escalating violations against journalists that hit a record high and unprecedented level, the likes of which Yemen has never witnessed before, whether in terms of number, quality or nature of these violations.

According to human rights and journalistic reports, these violations represented hundreds of crimes committed by the Houthi militia against the press, which included the closure of many print newspapers and websites and the confiscation and looting of the contents of their headquarters. These violations have affected journalists through arrest, enforced disappearance, torture, murder, issuing unfair sentences against journalists, depriving them of the most basic rights, and other violations that the Houthi militia has gone to excess in committing since 2014.

Steady Deterioration:

In its statement issued on the occasion of World Press Day, the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate says, “Journalists in Yemen and the world celebrate the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, which falls on May 3 of each year, in light of a serious and complex situation that Yemeni journalists suffer from as they are about to enter the tenth year of the war that its fire has affected them.”

The Journalists Syndicate also expressed its regret and dissatisfaction with the conditions that the press is going through, the continuous deterioration of freedom of expression in Yemen, the harsh conditions that journalists are suffering from in light of a major economic downturn, the interruption of salaries for journalists working in government institutions since 2016, and the lack of job opportunities due to the shutter of a number of print, audio and video media.

The Syndicate indicated in its statement that press freedom has been subjected to more than 1,700 cases of violation since the start of the war, in addition to the suspension of 165 media outlets, the blocking of nearly 200 local, Arab and international websites, and the martyrdom of 45 journalists.

The Worst Rankings:

Since the Houthi militia's coup in 2014 and the country's entry into a bloody war as a result of that, the Yemeni press has been experiencing its worst stages. In these circumstances, journalists have become exposed to the worst possibilities they may face, such as murder, arrest, assault, or exile to displacement camps or to diaspora countries at best.

Statistics issued by concerned parties revealed the extent of the tragic situation that the press is going through in Yemen, especially the period that accompanied the Houthi coup. Among these statistics is what was reported in a statement issued by Reporters Without Borders coinciding with World Press Freedom Day, May 3, in which it said that “Yemen is still one of the most dangerous countries in the world for the safety of journalists, where it is still ranked 168th in the world and 19th between Arab countries.”

According to last year’s 2023 classification issued by the organization in relation to the World Press Freedom Index, which included 180 countries, the situation is very good in 8 countries, good in 44 countries, and problematic in 55 countries, while the classification showed that the situation is difficult in 42 countries and very dangerous in 31 countries.

The organization says that Yemen "remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world for the safety of journalists, where the country still tops the global classification of countries with the largest number of hostage journalists, then Syria comes in the rank that follows Yemen."

Due to the policy of repression, restriction of freedoms and confiscation of rights practiced by the Houthi militia, the areas under its control have turned into a terrifying environment in which it is difficult to practice any form of journalistic work because journalists are subjected to harassment, surveillance and arrest simply for publishing media materials on social media sites. Many of these journalists are forced to leave the profession of journalism and instead turn to practicing other work completely far from the profession and specialization and change their jobs radically due to their fear of reprisals to which they may be exposed at the hands of the Houthis.

Freedom of the press has faced a wave of systematized demolition, and the areas controlled by the Houthi rebels have turned into areas closed to one voice and policy dictated by the militia. The media diversity that was prevalent in the country has also been eliminated to some extent.

As a result of this situation imposed by the Houthi militia, journalists are vulnerable to killing and kidnapping by militia members, and once they are arrested, they become victims of torture and ill-treatment.

Previous official statistics confirm the involvement of the Houthi militia in killing more than 40 journalists and workers in various media outlets in Yemen. Thus, it tops the list of parties responsible for this type of violations, followed by unknown armed groups, with 17 violations. Extremist organizations ranked fifth by committing two murders.

Opposite activity:

At a time when the Houthi militia worked to stop all opposition media outlets, shutter their headquarters, and block many news websites, it was active from an early stage in establishing and opening many different media outlets, because it was aware of the importance of the media and its major role in in creating transformations and exerting influence in society. Therefore, this militia sought to control all aspects of the media and established its own media groups, in addition to supporting other groups that are openly managed by businessmen and work in content to market the militia's policies.

The Houthi militia runs a large media group consisting of a satellite television station called “Al-Masirah,” which it considers the head of its media spear, a radio station with the same name and a weekly newspaper called “Sadaa Al-Masirah,” in addition to many different channels, radio stations, and news websites.

Fabricated Charges and Brutal Torture:

Journalists detained in detention centers are subjected to the most horrific types of torture, including electric shocks, beating on the head and sensitive areas with hard objects, ironing with fire, deprivation of sleep, water, food and medicine, preventing them from seeing their relatives, and depriving them of their most basic rights on charges of conspiracy, espionage and treason.

Yemeni journalist Muhammad al-Salahi, who spent five years in the prisons of the Houthi militia, says that during that period he faced brutal torture with the aim of breaking his will and silencing his voice.

Al-Salahi adds, "Today, I am in a completely different position than I was last year. A year ago, I was suffering under the weight of a cruel kidnapping in the basements and prisons of the Houthi militia. I lived 5 years of suffering and pain in those dark prisons."

Al-Salahi continues, “The Yemeni journalist’s faith in Her Majesty’s message has not changed despite the Houthi repression, violation of press freedom, and intimidation,” adding, “My experience is no different from the experiences of hundreds of abducted journalists in Houthi prisons, who face daily grave risks, deliberate terrorism, and constant torture.”

Systematized Repression:

Journalist Amin Dabwan describes the situation of journalism in Yemen as a “bleak picture” as a result of the catastrophic situation it has reached.

Dabwan says, "Since the Houthis carried out the coup against state institutions, they have silenced all free writers and there are no longer any opposition media outlets in the areas they control."

Journalist Dabwan adds, “The Houthi militia abducted journalists and abused them in various ways. Some of them were released from prison after spending difficult years, as is the case with Abdul Khaleq Omran and his colleagues. Some of them were killed by militia bullets, as they did with Ahmed al-Shaibani and Muhammad al-Qadasi in Taiz, and others were killed as a result of taking them as human shields, as it did with Abdullah Qabil and Youssef al-Aizari in Dhamar Governorate.”

Dabwan adds, "The situation has reached the point where the Houthi group has gone after opposition publications and tweets. It is a complex stage of criminality and the stifling of the word and the pen, in an attempt to conceal its crimes committed against all the Yemeni people."

He pointed out that "there are frightening statistics regarding violations committed by the militia that overthrew the state, which deserve international legal prosecution. These are crimes that do not have a statute of limitations."

For his part, journalist Ahmed Ayedh, editor-in-chief of the Marib Press website, says, “Journalism in Yemen is considered one of the most dangerous professions for those who practice it in general, because journalism was previously called the profession of trouble and today it has become the profession of peril.”

Ayedh added: "We have seen many journalists who have completely disappeared from the media scene, especially in the areas controlled by the Houthi militia, due to the systematized repression that affected these journalists, and they turned inward. Some of them searched for other jobs to practice, and some of them now work in the profession of press, but they work from inside their homes for unknown parties, and they were also forced to send encrypted correspondence to other parties so that they would not be discovered.”

The editor-in-chief of Marib Press concludes his speech by saying, "The Yemeni press has become degraded, and there is no longer a meeting room for journalists or anything else because the Houthi calamity has created a tragic situation for the press in general."

Joint Statement:

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, 40 regional and local organizations concerned with freedom of opinion and expression and human rights issued a joint statement calling on all parties to the conflict in Yemen to respect freedom of the press and immediately and unconditionally release journalists detained on the grounds of their media activity.

The statement issued by these organizations revealed that over the past decade, “violations and arbitrary acts against journalists have increased, and the total number of these violations from the beginning of 2015 until April 2024 reached 2,536 violations, including 54 cases of killing journalists.”

According to the statement, violations against journalists and media professionals make them pay a high price for practicing journalistic work and covering events in light of the impunity of criminals and the expansion of the targeting of journalists to reach their families as a means of pressuring journalists, silencing their voices, and trying to limit the space for freedom of opinion and expression, and the targeting of journalists extends to their families. The statement considered these violations against journalists and workers in Yemen “serious violations of human rights and humanitarian rules of International Humanitarian Law.

The statement also criticized "the limited role practiced by the international community, whose political dealings in the Yemeni file prevail over other aspects in order to satisfy the parties to the conflict, which has contributed to the impunity of criminals and increased the number of violations, in addition to the absence of local political will, and the weakness of the judiciary in Yemen, and the absence of effective measures towards perpetrators of crimes and human rights violations and punishing them for their actions.”

The statement called on the international community and human rights organizations to visit all prisons in Yemen and meet with journalists to ascertain their conditions, and urged urgent and immediate investigations to be conducted to find practical and effective mechanisms to once and for all end impunity for crimes committed against journalists.

The statement also called for pressure on the Houthi militias to stop the ongoing violations against journalists and media institutions operating under their control.

Continuing Series:

Not long ago, during the preparation of this report, the Secretary-General of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate, Muhammad Shabita, was subjected to an assassination attempt by gunmen while he was driving his car in the capital, Sana’a, on May 7.

According to a statement issued by the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate, Muhammad Shabita, Secretary-General of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate and Assistant Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Journalists, was shot by gunmen on Tuesday morning near the Ministry of Information in Sanaa.

The press release explained that one of the gunmen stopped Shabita's car and started shooting at him. This was followed by shooting at Shabita's car, which led to the death of one of his relatives and the injury of another, while the Secretary-General was hit with two gunshots in the leg and one in the abdomen, and was subsequently transferred to the hospital to receive treatment.

The press release also held the Houthi militia, which is the de facto authority in Sanaa, fully responsible for the safety of Mr. Muhammad Shabita, Secretary-General of the Syndicate and Assistant Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Journalists.

The International Federation of Journalists also called for an immediate investigation into the circumstances of the targeting incident of the Secretary-General of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate, Muhammad Shabita, in the capital, Sanaa.

The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate monitored 17 cases of violations affecting media freedoms in the country during the first three months of this year.

In its latest report, the Journalists Syndicate says that this is considered “a negative indicator that reveals the continued targeting of journalists in various quarters in a dangerous environment in which the minimum protection guarantees are not available for those working in the arena of the Fourth Estate.”

The union explains that “these violations ranged from deprivation of freedom and attacks on journalists and press institutions, then threats and incitement against journalists, confiscation, prevention, suspension, trials, summons, and forced deportation of a journalist from a foreign country.”