The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate has expressed its strong anger and pain at the insistence of the Houthi group to arrest fellow journalists Abdul-Khaleq Omran, Tawfiq Al-Mansoori, Akram Al-Walidi and Harith Hamid, and to issue an unfair sentence to death after their kidnapping, disappearance and torture since 2015 in light of the arrogance and intransigence of rejecting all local and international demands. calling for their release.
She indicated The Syndicate, in a statement on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, May 3, indicated that the Houthis continued to arrest three other journalists (Mohammed Abdo Al-Salahi, Muhammad Ali Al-Junaid, Younis Abdel Salam) in detention under harsh and illegal conditions of detention.. Pointing out that at the same time, he is still Journalist Waheed Al-Sufi has been forcibly disappeared since 2015, with the Houthi group in mysterious circumstances, and colleague Muhammad Qaid Al-Muqari is still forcibly disappeared by Al-Qaeda in Hadramout since 2015, which exacerbates the state of grave concern for their fate.
The Syndicate valued the struggles of Yemeni journalists and their struggle to gain their freedom and defend public freedoms..noting the sacrifices of 49 martyrs of journalists, photographers and media workers who sacrificed their lives for the truth, since the beginning of the war until today..emphasizing that it will work by all legitimate means for Defending fellow journalists and media professionals, their rights and freedoms, and working to ensure that violators of press freedom and aggressors against journalists do not go unpunished, as these crimes do not have a statute of limitations.
The Syndicate pointed to the danger of continued restrictions and harassment of journalists in all regions of Yemen, the abuse of their powers by some leaders to restrict media freedoms, and the arbitrariness of stopping some media outlets, as happened with the “Voice of Yemen” radio station, which was closed by the Houthi group in Sana’a months ago.
The union called on all parties, led by the Houthi group, to stop the policy of hostility towards the press, journalists and opinion-holders, and to accept pluralism, diversity and freedom of the press as a necessary and important step that contributes to achieving peace and correcting mistakes and sins.
The Syndicate saluted the efforts of the International Federation of Journalists in supporting Yemeni journalists and adopting the issue of detainees, especially colleagues sentenced to death and forcibly disappeared.. It renewed its demand to continue pressing efforts until all detainees and disappeared are released.. It called for redoubled efforts to alleviate this suffering, and put pressure on the parties The struggle to find a suitable and safe environment for journalistic work, respect for the profession of journalism, and the right to obtain information and release all their dues.
A number of human rights organizations have also called on the international community, the United Nations, local and international civil society, especially organizations concerned with protecting journalists, to put more continuous pressure on the Houthi group to repeal the unjust sentences against the four journalists and to release them immediately along with the rest of the journalists detained by various parties.
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