The Yemeni Mothers of Abductees Association, a pressure group led by mothers, wives and daughters whose fathers, sons and husbands are imprisoned and tortured by Houthi militias in Sanaa, urged UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths to step in and help free hundreds of journalists detained in coup prisons.
A breaking story on four abducted journalists brutally tortured by Houthi militias in Sanaa, their stronghold, shocked Yemenis nationwide.
A new round of peace consultations is scheduled for early December, whereby Griffiths and the freely-elected government will have a chance to negotiate the release of journalists and anti-Iran dissidents kidnapped by Houthis.
The Association on Tuesday issued a statement revealed shocking details on the torture of journalists Salah Al Qaidi, Akram Al Walidi, Hareth Hamid and Issam Belghaith faced in Houthi prisons.
According to the statement, the detainees were stripped from their clothes and left to freeze in icy weather for four hours, and received an inhuman beating that left them unconscious. Iran-supported Houthi militias, undeterred, have been actively abducting journalists for nearly four years in a way amounting to human rights crimes.
“This requires the urgent action of all human rights organizations, human rights activists and media personnel to step in and save and end the suffering of thousands of abductees held in coup prisons,” the statement read.
According to Reporters without Borders (RSF) Press freedom has been dramatically curtailed by major political upheavals and violence including the seizure of the capital, Sanaa, by Iran-allied Houthis.
Journalists are now constantly exposed to threats, attacks, and abduction. As for access to information on the internet, many websites are blocked since the Houthis took control of the Ministry of Telecommunications. Citizen-journalists are under surveillance in all areas of Yemen and get arrested for posts on social media.
Yemen is ranked 167th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2018 World Press Freedom Index. In one of the monitor’s reports, Houthis militias were found responsible for the death of 26 journalists and media professionals, between 2014 and 2017, and 825 violations of press freedoms.
Documenting Houthi transgressions against press freedoms and the right to information, a 2017 UN report revealed that the Iran-backed group had also blocked 21 websites, 7 television channels and banned 18 newspapers.
