freedom7
A dark era in history of Yemeni press
Mwatana Organization for Human Rights has said that Houthi armed group "Ansar Allah" controlling vast districts in Yemen has to stop targeting journalists and quickly unveil the fate of a number of journalists and media men held arbitrarily and forcibly disappeared in its prisons and detention centers for about seven months. Mwatana insists that Ansar Allah has to set them free immediately without any delay that might jeopardize their safety and lives, given that the armed conflict unfolding in Yemen is on the rise. The organization calls on Houthis to expedite the procedures of investigating into the violations of journalists and media men as well as some press agencies. Mwatana holds Houthi de facto authorities accountable for the violations practiced since they took power and that Houthis have to bring offenders to justice and prosecute them according to the law.
The organization emphasizes the importance of putting an end to the attacks on pressmen and journalists in Yemen and points out that the arbitrary assaults and crackdowns practiced on them have to stop as such malpractices restrict freedom of press and jeopardize the safety of journalists. The organization calls on the General Prosecution to start investigating into the deaths of journalists killed in the armed conflict and that offenders suspected of or involved in violations have to be held accountable and persecuted in accordance with the effective laws.
Based on its findings concerning violations of press since late March, Mwatana has come to know that Houthi armed group has been holding at least 13 journalists who were forcibly disappeared since last March in Sana'a. According to Mwatana's findings, Houthi armed group and Saudi-led Coalition caused two journalists to be killed in Dhamar province after they were apprehended by the group while they were in their own way back from covering an anti-Houthi tribal meeting in Hada'a district, Dhamar province, northern Yemen. The two journalists were held captive in a complex controlled by Houthis. According to claims of witnesses, Houthis used this complex for military purposes and it was targeted by air strikes of Saudi-led Coalition. As a result, the two journalists along with other detainees were killed.
Mwatana confirmed that Houthi armed group blocked more than 36 news websites. Mwatana also affirmed that Houthis have broken into more than 14 offices and headquarters of some media outlets and that they took over some of them along with their contents. Most of the media outlets the group raided are anti-Houthis and some others belonged to Yemeni Islah opponent Party.
Mwatana Organization for Human Rights calls on Houthi armed group "Ansar Allah" that has been controlling vast areas of the country since last September 2014 to immediately release all the journalists arbitrarily arrested and forcefully disappeared in their prisons. Mwatana also demands Houthis to withdraw their armed groups from offices and headquarters of press agencies and bring back all the equipment it confiscated upon its storming these headquarters. In addition, the organization calls on Houthis to lift block on online news websites, investigate into the killings of the two journalists and bring offenders to justice.
Mwatana reminds Houthi armed group "Ansar Allah" that principles and conventions of the international humanitarian law are binding to states and armed groups, and that the principles of international humanitarian law bans forced disappearance and arbitrary detention. Radhyia Almutawakil, Director of Mwatana Organization for Human Rights, said, "Violations of human rights and press freedom have reached unprecedented levels in the country after Houthi armed group took over power in September of the last year and that the violent conflict has been on the rise, holding Houthi armed group accountable for this serious deterioration and its repercussions."
Almutwakil added, "Houthi armed group has to immediately respond to the legitimate demands mentioned here, put an end to the violations of press and respect human rights and international humanitarian law." While Mwatana urges all local and international conflicting parties not to militarily target the press and its agencies, it condemns the declaration of the Saudi-led coalition spokesperson, Ahmed Asiri, broadcasted last March in which he revealed the intention of the coalition to strike opposing local media outlets. His declarations are a flagrant violation of press rights and freedoms and they posed a threat to the employees in such institutions.
The organization demands Saudi-led Arab coalition abide by principles of international humanitarian law which calls on the conflicting parties not to target media outlets, workers and headquarters as long as they aren't military purposes. Mwatana holds the coalition accountable for any aerial bombardment of any press agencies or media outlets in the country.
Killing of Two Journalists:
Two journalists, Abdullah Qabel, 25, and Yousif Alaizari, 26, were tragically killed on May 21, 2015, by an airstrike carried out by the Saudi-led coalition. The airstrike targeted a hotel where the two journalists were detained by the Houthi armed group on Haran Mountain. The journalists had been arrested the previous day, May 20, 2015, at a checkpoint manned by the Republican Guards in downtown Dhamar province, northern Yemen, while they were returning from covering an opposing tribal initiative in Zaraja district, Dhamar province.
Qabel worked as a reporter for Suhail, a Yemeni TV channel, and Alaizari was a reporter for Yamen Shabab, another Yemeni TV channel. Both channels were critical of the Houthi armed group.
A survivor who was with Qabel and Alaizari during the incident provided Mwatana with a detailed account. He explained that the three were detained at approximately 9:00 AM on May 20, 2015, when their car was stopped at a checkpoint in front of Dhamar University. They were forced out of the car, blindfolded, and taken to a building on Haran Mountain, where they were locked in the basement around midday. Thirty minutes later, two men came down and accused them of being informants. At 4:00 PM, another man came down, recording their personal details, including names, addresses, and cellphone passwords. After this, no further investigation took place, and they were left in detention.
On the afternoon of May 21, 2015, the survivor recalled that they had knocked on the doors of their cell, but no one responded. At 4:30 PM, they heard aircraft overhead, followed by an airstrike that hit a nearby building. Moments later, a second strike hit their own building. The survivor was trapped under rubble but managed to free himself after thirty minutes. He was later rescued by Red Crescent workers and informed that Qabel and Alaizari had been killed in the strike.
Qabel's brother shared his experience of attempting to locate his sibling. He had been contacted by someone who was with Qabel and Alaizari at the time of their arrest. Despite efforts to reach the detention center on Haran Mountain, they were denied entry by the Houthis, who claimed the area was a military zone. Houthis insisted that Qabel was safe and had not been arrested. Rumors had circulated that the area could be targeted by airstrikes, as weapons were allegedly stored there.
On the following day, the families of the victims visited police stations and prisons in Dhamar but could not locate them. They then went to Dhamar Hospital, where they learned from a survivor in critical condition that Qabel and Alaizari had been detained in a basement on Haran Mountain. The families attempted to access the site, but Houthi forces denied them entry and refused to allow heavy machinery into the area until May 25, 2015.
On May 25, following pressure from local leaders, the families were permitted to bring in heavy-duty equipment to clear the rubble. After hours of searching, Qabel's body was discovered at 5:30 PM. He was identified at Dhamar Hospital later that evening. On May 26, 2015, Alaizari's body was also identified. The two journalists were laid to rest on May 27, 2015.
Marwan Damag, Secretary General of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate, confirmed that the syndicate had intervened with Houthi leaders when it learned of Qabel and Alaizari's arrest. The syndicate had urged the Houthis not to detain them in such a location and held the Houthi armed group fully responsible for their safety.
Mwatana expressed deep sorrow and shock over the deaths of the two journalists, holding Ansar Allah (Houthis) and the Saudi-led Coalition fully accountable for their killings. Mwatana called for an independent and transparent investigation to uncover the full circumstances of the crime, particularly given reports that the detention site was used as a military barracks by the Houthis.
This statement serves to highlight the tragic and unjust loss of life of two dedicated journalists, and to call for accountability in the ongoing conflict.
Forced Disappearance and Arbitrary detention of Journalists :
Houthi armed group "Ansar Allah" has arrested nine journalists while they were staying in a hotel in the capital, Sana'a, last June and the group refused to comment on the fate of the arrested journalists and didn't spell out the reasons behind their detention. Mwatana has talked to a number of eye-witnesses and relatives of the detained journalists and found out identical and correspondent testimonies that on June 9, 2015, Houthi armed group arrested nine journalists in a hotel located on northern 60 St. in Sana'a where they were gathering doing their duty there. One of the arrestees was working for an opposition media outlet.
Mwatana interviewed Ahmed Hawdhan who is a friend of the nine detainees. He said, "Around 4:00am on Tuesday, June 9, 2015, the nine journalists were arrested in the hotel while they were working temporarily there due to the availability of electricity and internet access. On the second day, I went to look for them in some police stations and came to know that three of them were held captive in Hasaba police station and the rest were in Alahmar police station. On Thursday, June 11, 2015, I went to visit them, but I couldn't find them."
Based on testimonies of their families and relatives, the detained journalists are:
Some families of the detained journalists tried to get to the detention centers in which they were confined but they couldn't visit them or meet them despite their recurrent visits to the detention centers.
Haitham Alshehab's father told Mwatana that at 3:00pm on the second day of his son's detention he came to know that his son was detained in Hasaba police station in the capital Sana'a along with his colleague Hesham Alyousifi. The journalist's father said that he visited his son and met with him for a short while. He received a notification from some police officers in charge that his son was detained by Ansar Allah, the Houthi armed group. He said that he came back to Hasaba Police Station on the second day but he couldn't find him. Later on, he was told that his son was detained in the Criminal Investigation Prison especially in the Counter-Terrorism Unit. Shehab's father tried to pay his son a visit more than once in the Criminal Investigation Prison, but he was told to wait for Houthi representatives. He waited and waited, but in vain.
A relative of the detained journalist Tawfeeq Almansory, the paper director of Al-Masdar daily newspaper, said, "We came to know that Tawfeeq was taken to Hasaba Police Station and then was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Prison in late Ramadan. At this point in time, we don't have any clue about his whereabouts." A relative of Alyousifi told Mwatana, "I met some guards at the gate of the Criminal Investigation Prison and they told me that all detainees were fine. They told me that if I wanted to meet Hesham, I have to get permission from the caretaker representative of Houthis in the Investigation Administration. I went to the representative as I was instructed but he told me to get permission from the head of the Counter-Terrorism Unit and that I would be able to meet the detainees only after they finished their interrogation with them."
On April 6, 2015, Houthi armed group arrested Waheed Alsofi, 40, the editor in chief of Arabia newspaper and director of the paper's online website. Early morning of the day of his arrest, Alsofi was seen in Faj Attan holding his camera, the friend of his work. An eye-witness told Mwatana that around 7:00am of that day he saw Houthi gunmen dragging Alsofi away from Tahrir post office in the Capital Secretariat and drove him away on a white TOYOTA car without a license plate. Alsofi's family called the police stations, the General Prosecution, hospitals, the criminal investigation center, political security apparatus and the national security apparatus, but they couldn't find him. Alsofi has been forcibly disappeared till the moment of writing this article.
On July 6, 2015, at around 12:00am, Ibrahim Almajdhob, 28, who is working as a journalist for Rofakaa Development Foundation was arrested. Ali Almajdhob, Ibrahim's nephew, said that Ibrahim was arrested shortly after he got out of a funeral ceremony in Baihan Street in Sana'a. He was stopped by Houthi gunmen driving two military armored vehicles, Pick-up TOYOTA car and a taxicab. He added, "Ibrahim was frisked and hit by the guns' butts. He was accused of having an explosive vest in his possession. Four hours later, Houthi gunmen broke into our house located in Ansar neighborhood in Shomaila district, Sana'a, and took away my laptop, TV camera, and then arrested my brother, Qais. My brother Qais called his family ten days after he disappeared and told us that he was detained in the Political Security Apparatus. He was released later on after he spent 21 days in the prison. Ibrahim tried to call his family two months after he disappeared and his family paid him a visit in the Political Security Apparatus."
Salah Alqaedi, 29, who was working for Suhail TV channel was arrested on August 28, 2015 around 3:00pm while he was chewing Qat together with other people including Talal Alshobaibi who was working as a journalist for Al-Masdar news agency. They were in a real estate office in Sixty Street, west of Sana'a. He said that he saw a vehicle belonging to Houthis driving towards the office. Houthi gunmen broke into the office and looked for Alqaedi. They led him out. Few minutes later, they came back to look for his laptop and cellphone. Houthi gunmen also arrested five other people who were in the office. Four of them were released the next day while Alshobaibi stayed in the detention center for seven days. Alqaedi is still in the detention center till this day.
According to some eye-witnesses, Alqaedi was interrogated and asked to give some information about certain people and cellphone numbers of others. They were looking for the names of Alqaedi’s friends on Whatsapp. He said that Alqaedi was subjected to torture a few days before Eid Al-Adha. He is being held in Al-Jodairi Police Station. The eye-witness told Mwatana, "Alqaedi was blindfolded and his hands and legs were tied. He was kicked and smacked in the face. After that, a dog was sicced on him for the purpose of terrifying him."
Alshobaibi told Mwatana, "We were all detained in Aljodairi Police Station in Zeraa street, Sana'a. We were interrogated the next day and were accused of being Dawaesh. In addition, we were accused of pinpointing the places that should be struck by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition and working for the Resistance." For the record, these are the same accusations that Houthis always level on journalists and opponents. He adds, "I was set free seven days after I was arrested. I was bailed out and asked for a guarantee from my neighborhood's head that I shouldn't work for the resistance or help the coalition and never circulate news on Facebook."
On October 7, 2015, Houthi armed group abducted Mahmood Taha, 45, who is working as a reporter for News Yemen and as a freelance journalist. His daughter Dina Mahmood Taha told Mwatana, "Around 5:00pm on Wednesday, I was called from an eye-witness that a black car with glasses tinted on which some gunmen stopped by Sana'a checkpoint in Amran and the gunmen got off. They stopped my dad and asked him what his name was. When they made sure that he was Mahmood Taha, they blindfolded him and tied his hands. Then they drove him in their car to an unknown destination. I tried to dial the same number that called me earlier but I found out that it was a phone number of a street booth." Dina added, "My uncle was called and told that my dad was detained in Alhadaba Alsharkia Police Station. When my uncle went to visit him, he was told that he was transported to another place." Dina said that the whole family has been trying to contact Houthi armed group to know his detention whereabouts but in vain.
The journalist Jalal Alsharabi, 40, who used to work for the media attaché in the embassy of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Yemen, was arrested on April 23, 2015 in his house by Houthi gunmen. He was released from prison on August 20, 2015 after four months of arbitrary detention. In an interview with Mwatana, a close friend of Alsharabi said, "At 11:00pm on Thursday on April 23, 2014, the driver Hussain Alqadhi along with some relatives went to the house of the journalist Jalal to fill up his car from the gas station. While he was queuing up and the electricity was off, Hussain drove his car away. When he was 150m away, shots were fired at him."
He added, "The driver tried to run away and save his skin but the car veered off and turned over into a land plot. He got a shot in the fifth vertebrae of his spine. Hussain managed to call his friends who in turn rushed him to the hospital. At that time, the six gunmen wearing plainclothes and driving non-military vehicles were still in the same area of Jalal's home. When Jalal's friends arrived, the gunmen stopped their car and ordered them to lay down their weapons. After that, they allowed them to take Hussain to the Modern Azal Hospital as his condition was critical. Then the six gunmen arrived at Jalal's house and knocked at the door. He went to answer the door's knock but never came back."
According to Mwatana, Houthi armed group is keen on forcing the detained journalists to disappear and preventing their families from reaching or contacting them, which raises concerns that the detained journalists might be subjected to torture or mistreatment or confined in unfit detention centers. Mwatana warns Houthi armed group against subjecting the lives of the detained journalists to risks of any kind.
Storming into Press Agencies and Media outlets:
Mwatana has documented numerous break-ins carried out by the Houthi armed group, Ansar Allah, targeting offices and headquarters of press agencies and media outlets over the past few months. The frequency of these attacks on the press sharply increased after a statement was issued by the Ministry of Information, which is controlled by the Houthis, in March. The statement declared that the ministry would implement strict legal measures, potentially including the shutdown of any media outlet that spread "sedition" or contributed to instability.
In several televised speeches, Houthi leader Abdulmalik Al-Houthi has incited hostility toward the press and journalists. This instigation highlights the grave threat posed by the Houthi group to the freedom of speech and expression, as they actively suppress opposing voices. Mwatana has recorded over 14 instances of break-ins targeting press offices, TV channels, and local radio stations, leading many institutions to halt their operations.
On October 14, 2015, the Houthi armed group raided the office of Sawt Alyaman (Yemen's Voice) FM in the Al-Safyia neighborhood of Sana'a, arresting several employees for a period of time.
Mwatana talked to Amal Wohaish, programs director in FM, who said, "On Wednesday around 3:30pm, I was sitting in my office together with some colleagues: Salah Mohammed (a presenter of children programs), Esa Almorshidi (an anchor), and two trainees. All of a sudden, we heard violent knocks. Almorshidi went to open the door and, to our shock, eight gunmen broke into the office. As soon as they got into the office, they set out unplugging wires in order to shut broadcasting. Then they dismantled the broadcasting device and ransacked all offices. Two of the gunmen were left at the door."
Wohaish added, "The gunmen told us that they belonged to Ansar Allah and that they had orders from the Ministry of Information to shut down the broadcasting of the FM and to make sure that it didn't support the aggression." Wohaish went on to say, "While the gunmen were in the FM office, Ali Alrahbi, the director of the FM, came along and was taken away together with Almorshidi on a police car. They were arrested for a while and then released later on the same day."
Mwatana also talked with Alrahbi who said that he was taken away together with Almorshidi to the 45 Police Station in the capital. He said that they were released on the same day at 6:00pm, mainly after three hours of their arrest. He added, "I am still in contact with the Information Committee of Ansar Allah in Sabeen District in Sana'a. They asked me to tell them about the programs that our FM broadcasts. They assured me that there was no problem whatsoever and that they would cooperate with me to bring back FM to function again sooners either on Saturday or Sunday, but nothing has changed. Houthi armed group is still occupying the office of Yemen's Voice FM."
An employee in Azal TV channel told Mwatana that on August 13, 2015, Houthi armed group broke into the channel's headquarters which is located in Libyan Center, downtown Sana'a. He said, "A group of Houthis came over to the channel's headquarters few days before their break-in and warned all employees against broadcasting any materials supporting aggression in reference to the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, or broadcasting any opposition materials. The channel's headquarters was broken into around 6:30pm on August 13, 2015. There were like 25 Houthis. They forced out all employees who were about 15 and then confiscated the office keys. The group is still holding some devices and the headquarters is still closed by the them."
On March 26,2015, in the evening around 7:00pm, twenty gunmen belonging to Houthi armed group (some of them were wearing plainclothes and some other were in uniform) broke into Al-Masdar Institution for Press and Media and the TV channel, Yemen Shabab's office in the same building which is located on Rabat street, in the capital Sana'a. Some eye-witnesses from Al-Masdar told Mwatana that a group of gunmen on five vehicles arrived at the place and the gunmen fanned out on all the building's entrances and some others spread inside the building.
Later on, Mwatana talked to Ahmed Alwali, an editor in Al-Masdar daily newspaper who was there at the time of the break-in. He said, "We were taken by surprise around 7:00pm when our office was broken in. Five gunmen barged in. Three of them broke into a room reserved for Qat chewing session where I was sitting together with some other colleagues. Two gunmen broke into the office of Al-Masdar online in the adjoining room. One of the gunmen wearing a face mask cocked his Kalashnikov gun and said, " Don't you move a muscle, you are " Dawaesh", (ISIS members) you are traitors and allies to Saudi Arabia and America." He then frisked us one by one.
Sami Noman, a journalist at Al-Masdar, told Mwatana: "They pointed their guns at us and their fingers were on the trigger. They accused us of being ISIS and traitors. They ordered us to stand up and then frisked us one by one. We heard them talking about the 'sedition channel,' and that’s when we realized they meant the Yemen Shabab TV channel, whose headquarters was in the same building. Then they made a beeline for the channel's office. We decided to leave, so we started bagging up our stuff, but we were stopped by some other gunmen who were positioned downstairs. They took away our laptops (Tawfeeq Almansory, Morad Alarifi, Fuad Abed, and I). They also took away the laptops of Ahmed Alwali, Adnan Aljabarni, Adnan Alshehab, and Tawfeeq Almansory."
"We were detained for nearly two hours and were accused of the aforementioned charges while they were breaking open the doors of the Yemen Shabab channel. There was nobody at the channel's office at the time. One of their representatives came over and told them to bring back our personal stuff. They brought back our cellphones and told us that our laptops were left in one of the rooms, locked by one of them, and told us to wait for him. While my friends preferred to stay and wait, I made up my mind to leave."
Noman also told Mwatana that the Houthi armed group backed out on their promise to return the laptops. They have never been brought back up to the moment of writing this article. In addition, the group is still occupying the institution’s headquarters.
Mwatana met with Haron Alwosabi, the manager of an office in Yemen Shabab, who said that on Thursday, March 26, six Houthi gunmen broke into the channel’s headquarters. There was nobody in the office at the time. According to Haron, the Houthi gunmen shot open the doors and have been occupying the office ever since.
Mwatana also spoke with Ibrahim Mujahed, the director of Shomoo Institution for Press and Information and the editor-in-chief of Akhbar Alyoum (Today's News). He said, "On Thursday, February 5, 2015, at 4:30 PM, a group of Houthi gunmen arrived at Shomoo Institution in five police cars and an armed vehicle. Ten gunmen broke into the institution."
He added, "Fifteen employees and guards were detained for nearly three hours. Then the gunmen occupied the building and confiscated all the equipment available to the institution. The next day, the Houthi gunmen looted the warehouse located beside the building. The warehouse contained large amounts of ink, paper, and other stationery that would have been enough to print the paper for three years. A month later, the Houthi gunmen began dismantling the institution's printing machines and transferred them to an unknown destination."
Blocking Online News websites:
The violations of press freedom carried out by the Houthi armed group have exceeded their limits to include blocking several online news websites in an effort to prevent readers from accessing their coverage. Mwatana confirmed that the Houthi armed group has cut off more than 36 opposition online news websites and blocked SMS services. This marks the first time in which such a large number of online news websites have been shut down. The Houthi armed group carries out these arbitrary actions in an attempt to restrict press freedom and access to information. The group targets all information outlets that oppose its policies.
Mareb Alward, who is in charge of news at the Sahwa news website, told Mwatana, "On March 26, in the evening, our website was blocked along with some other local websites. We don’t know for sure who blocked the website, but we hold the Houthis, who are in charge, fully responsible. This arbitrary action came one day after we received a warning from the Ministry of Information, stating that the ministry would shut down all media outlets that oppose the group’s policy. The Houthi armed group accuses any opposing outlet of raising sedition."
Alward added, "As for the SMS news service, it was shut down on April 15 by order of the National Security Apparatus to two telecommunication companies, Sabafon and MTN, despite our contracts with these companies. To this day, the service is still offline, and we have lost thousands of subscribers and subscriptions, leaving us unable to pay our employees."
Radhya Almutwakel, Director of Mwatana Organization for Human Rights said, The afore-mentioned incidents show the extent of the grave violations practiced by Houthi armed group against press and mass communication. These malpractices clearly reveal the dark era of Houthi regime in the history of press. These violations have to stop immediately. Houthi armed group is waging an all-out war against press and suffocating freedom of press in Yemen. Pressmen have become targets out as the violent conflict is increasing more each day.
