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Women Journalists Without Chains (WJWC) has reported 56 violations against journalists, including three deaths, during the first quarter of 2018.
In a press release, the organization said the three-year war has had very tragic consequences for journalists and made them pay a heavy price.
It noted that dozens of reporters and field photojournalists have lost their lives while covering stories and events of the conflict and hundreds of journalists have been subjected to serious abuses such as arrests, injuries, forced displacement, torture etc.
"Journalistic freedoms are facing a fierce and unrelenting war, as all the conflicting parties treat them as enemies, which has made all media professionals a major target of war," the NGO said, pointed out that the media environment is no longer safe.
A total number of 57 cases of violations against journalists, media professionals and media facilities have been registered. The cases include media workers being abducted and detained, 3 killed, 4 injured, 4 fired from jobs, two prosecuted, one subjected to an assassination attempt, one denied access to treatment and one physically abused, as well as 6 cases of storming and burning media institutions.
This is a graphic presentation of journalists and media workers who were killed, injured, fired from jobs, prosecuted, subjected to an assassination attempt, denied access to treatment and persecuted, as well as of media institutions being set on fire:
The organization also indicated that Aden’s security belt and Hadrami elite forces - backed by the United Arab Emirates that is a member of the Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen – topped the list of violators of press freedoms during the first quarter of this year.
Remarkably, these forces have replaced the Houthi militia and forces loyal to the ousted president Ali Saleh, which have always been on the top list of the perpetrators over the past three years.
The security belt and Hadrami elite forces came first with a number of 24 cases of violation (43%), followed by the Houthi militia with 14 cases (25%), while the pro-government forces came third with 10 cases (18%). The rest of violations have been committed by other parties as follows: four by political forces, two by media institutions, one by the Arab coalition and two by unknown.
On a monthly basis, the violations documented by Women Journalists Without Chains are distributed as follows: 21(38%) in January, 17 (30%) in February and 18 (32%) in March.
As for the distribution of violations according to governorates, Aden ranked first with 18 cases (32%), followed by the capital Sana’a with 13 (23%), while Taiz ranked third with 12 (21%). 10 (18%) cases took place in Hadramout and three cases in Dhamar, Dhali, and Ibb.
Women Journalists Without Chains emphasizes the need for all parties to commit themselves to spare journalists and media professionals, who are entitled to the same protection as civilians under international humanitarian law, from their conflicts and from all forms of targeting and abusing.
WJWC renews its call to human rights organizations, freedom advocates and all free people around the world, especially the United Nations and the International Federation of Journalists, to put serious pressure on all parties to the conflict in Yemen to immediately stop targeting journalists and press the Houthi militia to release those in its jails.
