Yemen: Journalists Under Assault

September 11, 2025 – Yemen –

A new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) documents widespread and systematic violations against journalists and media institutions by all parties in Yemen’s conflict, including the Houthis, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), and the Yemeni government. These abuses include arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture, and other ill treatment, severely undermining press freedom across the country.

Between October 2024 and May 2025, HRW interviewed 27 people (including 16 journalists) and reviewed evidence such as official documents, court indictments, photographs, and reports. They documented 14 specific cases of abuse: three journalists detained by the Houthis, two by the STC, and four forcibly disappeared.

One released journalist, Abdelkhaleq Emran, reported that a Houthi prison official said, “We pray to God by torturing journalists.” Other journalists described hiding their identities when crossing checkpoints; some changed how they identified their profession in travel documents to avoid detection.

In addition to personal risks, media outlets have been seized or shut down: recent years have seen major institutions like Yemen Live for Media Production and Satellite Broadcasting, Yemen Digital Media, Sawt al-Yemen, SABA News Agency, and the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate face closure or government takeover.

Authorities have also detained family members of journalists, sometimes using them to coerce confessions or as leverage to halt reporting.

HRW is calling on UN member states to raise these violations at the upcoming UN Human Rights Council session. The organisation urges the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained journalists, for investigations into abuses, and for all warring parties to put an end to torture, forced disappearance, and other violations against media workers.

References –

https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/09/11/yemen-journalists-under-assault