Introduction:

Yemen is a country rife with complex conflicts fueled by divisions, multiple affiliations, and the political and economic conditions that afflict the country, respectively. This made it one of the most complex countries in terms of finding a solution to end the conflict. It also made it a hotbed for the exacerbation of the effects of the conflict and the accumulation of violations, especially those that are concentrated towards a specific group that is always interested in exposing the facts and clarifying the falsity and misleading of internal and external public opinion.

Journalists and human rights activists in Yemen, due to the nature of their work and their opinions, pay an expensive bill of bloodshed in the streets, displacement, prosecution on charges of treason, enforced disappearance, death sentences and other endless charges.

The Media Freedoms Observatory recorded 2,392 cases of violations against journalists at the level of Yemen during the years (2015 until the end of April 2022) between killing, threats, demobilization, unfair trials, and enforced disappearance, including (52) murders of journalists who died during the seven years of war. In addition to (13) journalists who are still detained and facing severe physical and psychological torture. In 2015 alone, the Media Freedoms Observatory in Yemen recorded 1,230 cases of violations of press freedoms in just one year.

The Journalists in Yemen between the Protection of International Conventions and the Narrow Passages of Trials:

The Yemeni constitution promulgated in 1994, which is the supreme legislation, in Article 41 of it stipulates that (the state guarantees freedom of thought and expression of opinion verbally, in writing, and in photography within the limits of the law). The Press and Publications Law, Article No. 25 of 1990, guarantees (freedom of the press, thought, and the issuance of newspapers and magazines). The Yemen Report: Freedom of Expression in the Event of Danger (January 2008) indicates that the texts of the law and the constitution are positive principles, but they did not find their way to implementation and practice.

A number of journalists in Hadramout governorate faced trials before specialized criminal courts and prosecutions, which are the judicial bodies that were established in 1999. Their specific jurisdiction was limited to high-risk cases such as crimes of terrorism, piracy, armed gang formation, drugs, crimes against state security, intelligence, and others. Therefore, it is not competent to consider cases of journalists. Despite the text of the Press and Publications Law in Article No. 13 (it is not permissible to ask a journalist about his opinion or the information he publishes and that it is not a cause of harm to him) and where the following article stipulates (the right of the journalist to keep the confidentiality of his sources of information and the inadmissibility of forcing him to disclose it). However, these constitutional and legal guarantees are not reinforced by an independent, effective and impartial judiciary capable of enforcing the content of constitutional and legal texts in this field.

Although Yemen is one of the countries that have ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, there are still gaps in legal texts and practices that restrict these rights; especially the Yemeni Penal Code, which places loose restrictions such as “in the interest of national security” or “within the limits of the law.” For many years, the authorities have exploited the phrase “within the limits of the law” contained in the aforementioned constitutional article to impose excessive restrictions on freedom of expression by using Criminal Law.

The legislation and laws in Yemen related to freedom of the press and freedom of expression contain articles that violate Yemen’s commitment to international treaties and covenants, especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Charter of Human Rights. The United Nations Committee on Human Rights, a body of independent experts that provides necessary interpretations of the articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, had emphasized that the formality of laws that limit freedom of expression “must be sufficiently precise and not broad,” explaining that ” the law should provide sufficient guidance for those charged with its implementation to enable them to properly ascertain which types of expression are subject to restriction and which are not.” Although there have been several legal reform initiatives in Yemen in previous years, including an initiative to amend the Press and Publications Law, there have not been any amendments enacted until the year 2022. In August 2022, we followed with great concern the issuance of the decision to establish the Press, Publications and Electronic Publishing Prosecution in the interim capital, Aden, despite the lack of a cybercrime law yet.

Hadramout .. and the Worst Seven Years for Press Freedoms

Hadramout governorate remained like other governorates that suffered from the widening war conflict, which gave a large space for recording many continuous violations to suppress press freedoms. The Media Freedoms Observatory in Yemen recorded (68) cases of violations in Hadramout governorate from 2015 to mid-2022, which the Observatory considered a high rate in view of the state of stability enjoyed by the governorate compared to the rest of the governorates.

The violations of press freedoms began in Hadramout governorate after Al-Qaeda took control of the city of Mukalla in April 2015, which began to storm the main media institutions, including Mukalla Radio, and burned the radio building and its historical archive, as well as destroying and looting the Bakathir Foundation for Press and Publishing. To the flagrant violation of the journalist Sanad Baishout by attempting to assassinate him on November 14, 2014, by planting an explosive device in his car in the city of Mukalla, at a time when the governorate was in a state of chaos and a spiral of assassinations on the coast of Hadramout.

Female journalists in the governorate were not immune from these violations. In 2015, journalist Hadba Al-Yazidi, a correspondent for Al-Saeeda TV channel, was subjected to a violation of assault and abuse, and her phone was confiscated and broken by the Central Security Forces on January 21, 2015, before Al- Qaeda entered Mukalla. In addition to the arrest of journalist Zayed Hadi on May 10, 2015, the journalists Amir Ba’awidan was also arrested and Mohammad Al-Muqri, was detained and forcibly kidnapped until this moment by the Al-Qaeda since October 12, 2015. At that time, the journalist Mohammed Salih Al-Sharafi was prosecuted, who left the country at the time due to persecution and threats from Al-Qaeda that controlled Mukalla at the time.

At the same time that Al-Qaeda took control of the city of Mukalla – Hadramout, which considered a difficult time, two stands of solidarity were held by the journalists in the city to support and demand to release those who were arrested at the time, especially Ba’aweidan and Al-Muqri.

Table Showing Cases of Press Violations for the year 2015

Journalist	Type of Violation	Date of Violation	Responsible Party	Notes
Hadba Al-Yazidi	attack	21/1/2015	Central Security Forces
Zayed Abdullah Hadi	Prevention and Confiscation	10 / 5/2015	Al-Qaeda
Mohammed Salih Al-Sharafi	Prosecution	May 2015	Al-Qaeda
Mohammed Al-Muqri	Enforced Disappearance	12/10/2015	Al-Qaeda	still forcibly disappeared for 7 years now
Ameer Abdullah Ba’awaidan	Arrest and Imprisonment	12/10/2015	Al-Qaeda

Source: Freedoms and Violations Committee / Yemeni Journalists Syndicate

2016

The year 2016 is considered one of the years in which there were many types of press violations in Hadramout governorate, as the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate recorded the number of cases of press violations, which amounted to (205) cases at the level of Yemen. In the same year, a number of important news sites were blocked after the Houthi group took control of the Ministry of Communications in Sana’a. Among those important and prominent sites in Hadramout (Huna Hadramout – Najm Al Mukalla – Naba Hadramout) and some journalists were subjected to a number of violations by assault and threat summarized in the following table:

Table Showing Cases of Press Violations for the year 2016

Journalist	Type of Violation	Date of Violation	Responsible Party	Notes
Abdullah Nasser Al-Saiili	Kidnapped	28/2/2016	Al-Qaeda	detained 50 days in prison
Mohammed Abd Abdul Wahhab Al-Yazidi	Prevention and Confiscation	15/5/2016	Forces Affiliated to the Military Zone
Abdel-Jabbar Awad Al-Jariri	Threat	12/10/2016	Forces Affiliated to the Military Zone
Mohammed Al-Ammari	Prevention and Confiscation	11/10/2016	Soldiers
Khaled bin Aqelah	Assault and Threat	7/12/2016	Unknown Persons
Mohammed Al-Muqri	Enforced Disappearance	12/10/2015	Al-Qaeda	Still Forcibly Disappeared

Source: Freedoms and Violations Committee / Yemeni Journalists Syndicate

2017

In 2017, the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate recorded 300 cases of violations against journalists across Yemen. It is the only year in seven years in which no cases of press violations were recorded in Hadramout governorate, with the exception of one case in which the Journalists Syndicate issued a report to the public opinion of journalist Saleh bin Muhanna, stating that he had received a notification of prosecution and summons by the security authorities in Mukalla – Hadramout at the time.

2018 / 2019

In 2018, the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate recorded (226) cases and (134) cases of violations against journalists in 2019 at the level of Yemen, including two cases of violation in Hadramout. The two are related to the head of the Violations and Freedoms Committee in the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate and the chairman of Bakathir Foundation for Press and Publishing, journalist Awad Kashmim, who was arrested in March 30, 2018. He was arbitrarily and illegally imprisoned after the decision to dismiss him from the board of directors of Bakathir Foundation for Press and Publication, which he headed at the time. Kashmim was detained for two months in the Military Intelligence prison and the Central Prison and was released on bail before the Specialized Criminal Prosecution, which after four years issued a one-year suspended sentence against him on charges related to the (State Security Court), which is not competent in the cases of journalists.

In the same year, trade union journalist Sabri Salmeen Bin Mukhashin was arbitrarily arrested on December 3, 2018, in solitary confinement affiliated with the Military Intelligence for a period of one month and another month in the Central Security Prison in Mukalla, according to the statement of the Journalists Syndicate. The syndicate also condemned, in several reports, the arbitrary behavior against Bin Mukhashin, after he was prevented twice from traveling at Seiyun International Airport in Hadramout.

Meanwhile, journalist Hadba Al-Yazidi, a correspondent for Belqis TV at the time, was prevented from attending the inauguration of Al-Rayyan International Airport in Hadramout on November 27, 2019.

Table Showing Cases of Press Violations for the year 2018-2019

Journalist	Type of Violation	Date of Violation	Responsible Party	Notes
Awad Saleh Kashmim	Arrest and Imprisonment	19/3/2018	Local Authority / Military Intelligence	Detained for two months A court ruling was issued
Sabri Salmeen Bin Mukhashin, , detained for two months Perspective in front of the penal	Arrest and Imprisonment	3/12/2018	Military Intelligence	Detained for two months Ongoing in front of the Criminal Court
Hadba Al-Yazidi	Prevented from Covering	27/11/2019	Al-Rayyan Airport Security
Mohammed Al-Muqri	Enforced Disappearance	12/10/2015	Al-Qaeda	Still Forcibly Disappeared

Source: Freedoms and Violations Committee / Yemeni Journalists Syndicate

2020

As for the year 2020, the total number of press violations was estimated at (112) cases at the level of Yemen. As for Hadramout governorate, it is considered the year of the most violation and suppression of press freedoms, the most prominent of which was the arrest of journalist Abdullah Bakir in the prisons of the Military Intelligence and then the central prison. He spent nearly a year of forced detention and was tried before the Specialized Criminal Court on charges of forming an armed gang, and he was acquitted after a year of forced imprisonment. Journalists Sabri Bin Mukhashin, Mohammed Al-Sharafi and Mohammed Al-Yazidi were also subjected to a security circular to pursue them on malicious charges of violating security. The case of violation also reached the launch of an incitement campaign against the President of the Journalists Syndicate, journalist Salem Al-Shahet, on the grounds of his defense of journalists, exposing arbitrary practices, and attempting to alter his press statement in an unprofessional and inflammatory manner. While journalist Moataz Al-Naqeeb was assaulted and subjected to attack and his press tools were confiscated. As well as the prosecution of journalist Mohammed Al-Yazidi, the trial of photojournalist Hassan Bahreesh, the arrest of journalist Basil Baamas, as well as the summoning of journalist Imad Al-Dini by the authorities. On July 11, 2020 a protest was held by the journalists in front of the governorate office in Mukalla – Hadramout, which was the largest protest for journalists, rejecting all violations and suppression of press freedoms in Hadramout.

Table Showing Cases of Press Violations for the year 2020

Journalist	Type of Violation	Date of Violation	Responsible Party	Notes
Abdullah Awad Bakir	Arrest and Imprisonment – Illegal Trial	29/5/2020	Military Intelligence	arrested for a whole year and an acquittal was issued
Basil Baamas	Imprisonment	10/6/2020	Military Intelligence
Salem Al-Shahet	Incitement Campaign	13/7/2020	Unknown Persons
Hassan Bahrish	Trial	11/8/2020	Civil Lawsuit due to Publication
Mohammed AbdulWahhab Al-Yazidi	Trial	27/8/2020	Lawsuit by the Public Funds Prosecution	Because of a Post on Public Works
Mohammed AbdulWahhab Al-Yazidi	Prosecution	18/9/2020	Military Intelligence
Moataz Jamal Al-Naqeeb	Assault and Confiscation	20/9/2020	Forces Affiliated to the Military Zone
Imad Al-Dini	summons	5/10/2020	Security Authorities
Sabri Bin Mukhashin	Prosecution and Prevention from Traveling	22/10/2020	Seiyun Airport Security
Mohammed Al-Yazidi / Sabri Bin Mukhashin / Mohammed Al-Sharafi	Security Pursuit	6/10/2020	Security Authorities
Mohammed Al-Muqri	Enforced Disappearance	12/10/2015	Al-Qaeda	Still Forcibly Disappeared

Source: Freedoms and Violations Committee / Yemeni Journalists Syndicate

 

2021

In 2021, the Freedoms and Violations Committee of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate recorded (104) cases of violations against journalists across Yemen. While cases of violations are still ongoing in Hadramout of all kinds, the most prominent of which was the continued detention of journalist Bakir in prison. In addition to that was the detention of journalists Moataz Al-Naqeeb and Zakaria Mohammed, correspondents of Yemen Shabab and Al-Mahria channels, for two days in the central prison; and detention for hours of journalist and activist Hala Badawy, on the background of their press coverage of one of the protest vigils. At that time, the trial of the journalists Awad Kashmim and Sabri Bin Mukhashin was ongoing, Bin Mukhashin who the specialized criminal prosecution demanded a verdict against him as a fugitive from the face of justice and to demand his arrest through the Interpol. As well as a threat to liquidate the journalists Mohammed Al-Yazidi, Mohammed Al-Sharafi and Sabri Bin Mukhashin, in addition to the trial of the journalist Abdullah Al-Shadili with a pending invitation before the Public Funds Prosecution by Hadramout University. At the end of the year, the journalist Hala Badawy was arrested by the Military Intelligence, and she was charged with 12 charges related to terrorism and intelligence. She was detained in the intelligence prison and the central prison for more than 100 days before she was acquitted in November 2022, in addition to the forced absence of journalist Mohammed Al-Muqri disappeared from 2015.

Table Showing Cases of Press Violations for the year 2021

Journalist	Type of Violation	Date of Violation	Responsible Party	Notes
Abdullah Awad Bakir	Arrest and Imprisonment – Illegal Trial	29/5/2020	Military Intelligence	arrested for a whole year and an acquittal was issued
Moataz Al-Naqeeb	Arrest	18/2/2021	Forces Affiliated to the Military Zone
Zakaria Mohammed	Arrest	18/2/2021	Forces Affiliated to the Military Zone
Hala Badawy	Detention	18/2/2021	Forces Affiliated to the Military Zone
Abdullah Al-Shadili	Trial		Public Funds Prosecution
Awad Kashmim	Trial	9/12/2021	Specialized Criminal Prosecution
Sabri Bin Mukhashin	Trial	9/12/2021	Specialized Criminal Prosecution
Mohammed Al-Yazidi / Sabri Bin Mukhashin / Mohammed Al-Sharafi	Threat of Killing	4/9/2021	Security Authorities
Hala Badawy	Arrest and Imprisonment	30/12/2021	Military Intelligence	She was charged with 12 terrorism-related charges
Mohammed Al-Muqri	Enforced Disappearance	12/10/2015	Al-Qaeda	Still Forcibly Disappeared

Source: Freedoms and Violations Committee / Yemeni Journalists Syndicate

2022

Since the beginning of the year 2022, the Violations and Freedoms Committee of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate, the Media Freedoms Observatory, has recorded (56) cases of violations at the level of Yemen. In Hadramout, the authorities are still practicing violations against journalists, as the violation case index was high in the first half of this year. The Specialized Criminal Court of First Instance issued a verdict against journalist Awad Kashmim, head of the Freedoms and Violations Committee of the Journalists Syndicate, Hadramout, Al-Mahra and Shabwa governorates, with a suspended sentence of one year in prison. Another ruling against journalist Abdullah Al-Shadlili, correspondent of South 24 news website, by the Public Funds Court, with a suspended 3-month prison sentence, due to a case of publication submitted against him by the University of Hadramout. Meanwhile, the trial of journalist Hala Badawy continued before the Specialized Court of First Instance until a verdict of her innocence was issued. At the same year, journalist Obaid Waked was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department in a legal violation, and he is still being tried before the Public Funds Court due to a publication case filed by the Yemeni Oil Company in Mukalla – Hadramout. In addition, the authority raided the government-run Hadramout channel with military crews and arrested 5 of the channel’s workers and confined them to the intelligence headquarters for hours. While journalists Mohammed Al-Yazidi, Mohammed Al-Sharafi and Sabri Bin Makhashin are still prohibited from returning to Hadhramout, and journalist Mohammed Al-Muqri is still forcibly disappeared since 2015 by Al-Qaeda.

Table Showing Cases of Press Violations for the year 2022

Journalist	Type of Violation	Date of Violation	Responsible Party	Notes
Hala Badawy	Trial		Military Intelligence
Awad Kashmim	Trial	30/5/2022	Military Intelligence
Obaid Waked	Detention	30/5/2022	CID
Abdullah Al-Shadili	Trial	15/6/2022
5 of Hadramout TV employees	Arrest	May 2022	Military Intelligence
Mohammed Al-Yazidi / Sabri Bin Mukhashin / Mohammed Al-Sharafi	Banishment		Security Authorities
Mohammed Al-Muqri	Enforced Disappearance	12/10/2015	Al-Qaeda	Still Forcibly Disappeared

Source: Freedoms and Violations Committee / Yemeni Journalists Syndicate

Multiple Polarization and Difficulty in Accessing Information

In light of the war and the weakness of the administrative and statistical aspect, especially after the centralization that Yemen is still suffering from its consequences, journalists and those working in journalism and publishing suffer from the difficulty of accessing information, verifying it and its validity, and presenting it to public opinion in accordance with fair and transparent journalistic work due to the lack of a clear statistical mechanism adopted by some departments and agencies. In addition to that, the lack of modern databases and statistical centers that would facilitate the work of the journalist, and the lack of activation of the National Information Center. As well as, some parties always reserve unjustifiably their statistics, data and numbers, despite the fact that they are not dangerous or affecting public order, and the average citizen has the right to view and be held accountable for them. Despite the provisions of the Publications Law on the right of journalists to obtain information and to facilitate this for them.

In Hadramout province, like other provinces of the Republic, and because of the war, the length of the conflict period, the multiplicity of its parties and affiliations, and the new affiliations it produced and the reproduction of old ones, journalists suffer from the phenomenon of multiple polarization, especially in light of the deteriorating economic conditions, layoffs from work, and the difficulty of improving the living situation. These agencies or parties attract journalists and offer privileges, which may force the journalist to respond to a certain type of polarization and respond to it and employ his work, opinions and jurisprudence to preserve his source of livelihood, which creates a clash with other colleagues in the profession and makes the journalist a tool in the hands of the party that attracted him and creates multiplicity and divisions among the journalists and their independence.

Hope for Positive Signs:

The press and media circles in Hadramout and Yemen, as well as international organizations concerned with defending press freedoms, welcomed what the new governor of Hadramout announced as part of a plan of action initiative on August 8, 2022. He stated that he feels “the importance of the media at the current stage, and that the authority cannot stand against freedom of the press and opinion, and we will open a new page with the media and journalists, and that we all have a great deal of responsibility”. With this balanced speech, everyone welcomed this initiative after years of oppression of press freedoms in Hadramout by the various authorities.

The Media Freedoms Observatory in Yemen welcomed with an an official letter, dated August 15, 2022 to the new governor, the authority’s initiative towards journalists and rejoicing at this step taken by the governor, while presenting a comprehensive briefing within the letter on the reality of press freedoms during the past years. The Observatory hoped that there would be a new page of responsible handling of freedom of the press by the authorities in Hadramout.

In a letter on August 18, 2022, Amnesty International directed the internationally recognized Yemeni government to immediately end its harassment and prosecution of journalists and to respect their right to freedom of expression. This path could begin by abandoning the practice of summoning activists and journalists to the security and military services and ending the misuse of criminal defamation and national security laws to suppress dissent. The government should also bring national legislation limiting the right to freedom of expression into line with international standards.

The international organization (Reporters Without Borders RSF) issued a statement on August 27, 2022, deploring the numerous violations of press freedom in the Yemeni province of Hadramout during the era of the former governor, who had just finished a five-year term as its ruler, and calling on his successor to ensure the protection of journalists.

“Among the Yemeni regions controlled by the internationally recognized government, Hadramout province has witnessed the greatest violations of press freedom,” said the Middle East bureau of Reporters Without Borders. “We urge the newly appointed governor, Mabkhout Bin Madi, to reverse this trend and show that the authorities recognized by the international community intends to respect the media and protect journalists.”

Recommendations

1. International organizations concerned with human rights, freedom of expression and opinion, and protection of journalists and the press must exercise their role by pressuring the government to include the provisions of agreements and treaties related to freedom of opinion, the press, and journalists in its domestic legislation and amend them in accordance with those treaties.
2. The Yemeni government must take strict and immediate measures regarding the violations and attacks against journalists and strive to reduce impunity for those responsible for violating journalists.
3. Requesting the Public Prosecutor to conduct investigations into allegations of violations in an urgent, impartial and transparent manner.
4. We call on Parliament to work hard to abolish and amend laws and legislation that limit the work of journalists, threaten freedom of opinion and expression, and violate the international and Arab agreements and treaties signed by Yemen.
5. The Specialized Press and Publications Court, which has been used as a means to file criminal charges against journalists due to the nature of their work and their opinions, shall be dissolved.
6. Media institutions and the Journalists Syndicate should work to rehabilitate and build the capacities of the journalists they belong to, especially in investigative journalism, combating misleading news, and the occupational safety of journalists, and form a special committee to monitor the quality of the submitted media work; in addition to activating a special observatory to monitor violations against journalists systematically and with transparent standards.
7. We call on the Journalists Syndicate to expedite the issuance of the journalists’ syndicate membership card in accordance with the Syndicate’s regulations and articles of association, to give the journalist space to practice his journalistic work professionally, work to follow up on journalists’ issues, and provide them with all protection and legal aid.
8. Ensuring that the journalist has easy access to his information and its accuracy, establishing a database for all statistical data, or establishing a research center, in addition to activating the National Information Center.