London – Amnesty International today called on the internationally recognized government of Yemen (IRG) to end harassment of journalists in areas under its control.
Yemen, which has been at war since 2014, is experiencing a serious humanitarian crisis. Heavy rains in recent days have caused more destruction. In this context, journalism has come under more and more pressure.
According to Reporters Without Borders, the division of the country into zones controlled by the Houthi rebels by the so-called legitimate government of southern separatists has further exacerbated the persecution of media professionals.
Journalists in Yemen face harassment ‘for doing their job’
At least 19 journalists were killed in Yemen at the end of last year.
The lack of medical treatment for Tawfiq al-Mansouri, one of four journalists imprisoned since 2015 and sentenced to death by the Houthis in April 2020, caused protests from the international community.
But persecution by the recognized government increased.
In the first half of 2022, the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate recorded 11 cases of attacks, including threats and incitement to violence against journalists and the media, nine cases of detention, and six cases of prosecutions and subpoenas by conflict parties.
The association report revealed that the IRG was responsible for 23 of the violations, while Houthi faction officials were responsible for 16.
According to Amnesty International, in the past seven months, IRG officials have sued at least three journalists for publishing critical content about government officials and government agencies.
A fourth journalist was summoned by the criminal investigation department and detained for nine hours over a Facebook post about the high prices of fuel sales. And a few more people were harassed.
“Journalists should not be treated like criminals just because they criticize government agencies and public officials,” said Diana Semaan, deputy director for Middle East and North Africa.
He pointed out that currently persecuted media professionals are just doing their jobs and their speech is protected by international human rights law.
“The internationally recognized government of Yemen has a responsibility to respect freedom of expression and must drop all charges against them.”
Criticism of journalists in Yemen turned into ‘insult’
Charges faced by journalists include “insulting” a public official, who under the Penal Code can be sentenced to up to two years in prison, mocking military officials, hurting a state symbol and disrupting public order.
Under international law, “insult” is not an acceptable crime and does not justify restriction of freedom of expression.
In addition, the UN Human Rights Committee stated that “merely the recognition of forms of expression as insulting a public person is not sufficient to justify the imposition of punishment”.
“Amnesty International opposes laws that prohibit insulting or desecration of heads of state or public figures, military or other public institutions, flags or symbols, unless they constitute incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.”
The ‘insults’ of journalists prosecuted under the Penal Code
Amnesty met with two lawyers and 10 journalists and activists; six of them were summoned for questioning by the criminal investigation directorate or military intelligence for publishing content critical of the authorities.
Two of the journalists were tried under the Penal Code, and a court ordered suspended prison sentences in 2022.
In one case, the Taiz Public Ministry accused a journalist of “insulting” public and military officials in 2019 after he published several Facebook posts criticizing the Taiz military authorities for intimidating journalists and activists.
On May 17, 2022, the Sabir Court of First Instance found him guilty and sentenced him to a one-year suspended prison sentence and a fine under Article 292 of the Turkish Penal Code.
“This accusation is for political reckoning. The side that judges me is the side that controls the army, the security apparatus and the judiciary.”
Another journalist was sentenced to three months in prison by the Public Funds Courts in Hadramout on 21 June 2022 for “insulting a public official” and “threatening to reveal private secrets” according to the Penal Code.
The rationale was a report criticizing a university. He questioned how this could be framed as a crime against a government official.
“What did the prosecution achieve by prosecuting me for almost a year just because I said the truth that most people would agree with?” He told Amnesty International.
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Self-censorship as threatened freedom of the press
Another journalist is still on trial on fabricated charges and could face a minimum of three years in prison if found guilty, according to Amnesty International.
He is on trial at the Criminal Court of First Instance in Hadramout on national security-related charges for publishing articles urging local authorities to stop using intelligence agents to harass journalists and replace the governor.
He told Amnesty International that security guards began regularly standing in front of his home and office in 2019 in retaliation for anti-governor demonstrations.
Two other journalists told the organization that for fear of persecution, the authorities had stopped publishing their critical views.
One said: “I have resorted to silence and temporarily withdrawn from journalism, but this is a frustrating, painful and humiliating result.”
“The internationally recognized government of Yemen must immediately end harassment and prosecution of journalists and respect their right to freedom of expression,” said Diana Semaan.
Yemen is one of the countries where journalists are victims of violent crimes as well as harassment of journalists.
The latest came in June, when a reporter working for the Japanese network NHK was killed in a bombing, the second such case in seven months.
Also Read | Another journalist died in Yemen in the second bomb-laden vehicle in 7 months
source: Noticias
