On World Press Freedom Day, Tawakkol Karman urges UN to save journalists in Houthi prisons

The human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman has paid a tribute to journalists and media professionals worldwide for their struggle to uncover the truth and provide people with information with complete impartiality and professionalism.

In a statement issued to mark the World Press Freedom Day, Karman said, “The coup led by ousted president Saleh and the Houthi militia has infringed everything related to the press and the media in a way that confirms that we are facing a state of brutality against any manifestation of freedom.”

Mrs. Karman added in the statement published on her official Facebook page that adopting repressive policies against the press, bringing prosecution and groundless accusations against journalists and media professionals and subjecting them to cruel torture, as is happening in Yemen, call for a firm stance from the UN and the world’s governments and the press unions, criminalizing all these violations and holding their perpetrators accountable.

She also pointed out that Yemen, just like other countries witnessing similar coups, has become free from the press, and this is considered a serious decline of basic human rights and freedoms, which must be addressed by all possible means.

Additionally, she stressed that the lack of a free press encourages autocrats to continue their repressive policies and crack down on human rights without a sense of responsibility, calling for protecting the rights of journalists in the world and ensuring their free and professional work.

“Today’s challenges facing journalism require us to declare our complete bias in favour of the press’s part, which defies suppression and terrorism and makes the ultimate sacrifice for its adherence to the spirit and principles of the free press”, the mother of revolution explained. 

The Nobel laureate affirmed that the world is called upon now more than ever to take public positions in support of freedom of the press, as this represents support for good governance and for the right of societies and peoples to knowledge.