The Voice of Resistance in Southern Yemen Stifled: Journalist in Aden
YemenExtra
Translated By: Malak Ali
A number of human rights organizations have documented the violations against media in Yemen, especially in the southern governorates controlled by the Saudi-led coalition forces.
Reports from the organizations indicate that these violations have increased from day to day in southern Yemen, under the Saudi-UAE conflict.
The Sam Organization for Rights and Freedoms condemned the continuing violations of the rights of journalism and journalists in Yemen by the authorities in Aden and Hadramout governorates, expressing their dissatisfaction with the continuation of these violations, which constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law.
The organization, which is based in Geneva, that it has identified in the past period many breaches, which affected many journalists, photographers, dozens of newspapers and electronic media sites, as well as attacking several media outlets, in a clear and explicit violation of freedom of opinion and expression, which is guaranteed in all international charters and customs.
In the past two months, the south of Yemen witnessed a marked increase in the targeting of media outlets, as well as unknown armed groups, where the organization documented a number of incidents related to the targeting of these premises.
On March 1 of this year, at 5:30 am, the Al-Shamu’a Foundation for the Independent Press and Printing in Aden governorate, south of Yemen, was attacked by armed elements who burned it and its printing press.
On February 27, 2018, journalist Fathi Ben Lazraq was summoned by the Aden Research Department, a non-authorized organization to investigate him on issues related to his own publications on his Facebook page.
“I was summoned on the basis of publications that I published on my Facebook page, where they accused me of threatening the security with these publications. In fact, I write about ordinary topics that create public opinion, but they want to mute and stifle any opposition voices in Aden. ”
In another incident, Aden 24 newspaper in the district of Remi in Mansoura, Aden governorate, on January 29, 2018, was attacked by unknown elements, almost killing the editor of the newspaper Mokhtar Yafi’i, and these elements vandalized and destroyed all existing surveillance cameras in the organization.
On February 16, 2018, the Aden Center for Strategic Studies and Statistics and the headquarters of the eighth daily newspaper based in Al-Sa’ada neighborhood in Khor Maksar district were attacked by live bullets, causing extensive damage to the building and the headquarters.
On February 28, 2018, the radio tower of Bandar Aden was attacked by unidentified elements in Mansoura district, Aden governorate.
Sam documented summonses and enforced disappearances by the Hadramout authority and Saudi-backed militias maintaining the series of abuses targeting the media sector in the southern Yemeni governorates.