Yemen: Escalating Assaults on Journalists by All Warring Parties

September 11, 2025 – Yemen – 

Human Rights Watch has published a report titled “We Pray to God by Torturing Journalists”: Warring Parties’ Systematic Violations Against Journalists and Press Freedom in Yemen, documenting grave abuses against media workers by Yemen’s various conflict actors — including the Houthis, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), and the internationally recognized government.

Based on interviews conducted between October 2024 and May 2025 with 27 individuals — 16 of them journalists — alongside analysis of court documents, photos, and other evidence, the report identifies at least 14 specific cases of serious violations. These include arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, ill-treatment, and the use of family members of journalists as leverage.

Some journalists detained since late 2023 remain imprisoned under unclear charges; four of them have been forcibly disappeared. Others report brutal torture practices. One released journalist, Abdelkhaleq Emran, recounts that a Houthi prison official told him: “We pray to God by torturing journalists.”

Media institutions have also come under attack: outlets like Yemen Live for Media Production, Yemen Digital Media, Sawt al-Yemen, SABA News Agency, and the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate have been seized, shut down, or severely restricted.

Many journalists have fled Yemen or now self-censor. Some disguise their profession when crossing checkpoints; one freelance reporter in Aden said she lists her job as “student” on her passport to avoid arrest or harassment.

The report calls on all parties to the conflict to immediately release journalists who are detained without basis, to stop torture and enforced disappearances, and to restore the ability of media organizations to operate freely. It urges UN member states to raise these concerns at the upcoming Human Rights Council session, and for special UN rapporteurs and working groups to seek access to Yemen to monitor violations.

Overall, the findings depict a systemic assault on press freedom in Yemen — not just isolated events, but a consistent pattern of oppression, fear, and suppression tied to reporting that challenges those in power.

Reference – 

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