New York, February 7, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the Yemeni government’s decision to revoke the license of the private weekly Al-Hurriya Ahliya and issue an arrest warrant for the paper’s editor. The actions came after Al-Hurriya became the third Arab newspaper to publish controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. The…
Sana’a, Yemen, January 26, 2006—A delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm today at the deterioration of press freedom in Yemen. Over the last several months, a growing number of Yemeni journalists have been the victims of brutal assaults, arrests, intimidation, and government-sanctioned newspaper closures. They now also face the prospect of a…
New York, December 9, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the beating and intimidation of Mohammad Sadiq al-Odaini, head of a Yemeni independent press freedom group. Al-Odaini, secretary-general of the Center for Training and Protecting Journalist Freedom, told CPJ that earlier this week he was threatened at gunpoint by a man he recognized as a…
New York, December 7, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by an apparent government attempt to intimidate journalists from the independent daily Al-Ayyam by sending elite Yemeni Republican Guards to its Aden office. Around 1 a.m. on December 5, five soldiers in a gray-blue Mercedes circled Al-Ayyam’s headquarters several times before asking to meet…
New York, December 1, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the legal harassment of opposition and independent newspapers over the past month by the Yemeni authorities, including the closure of one newspaper and a barrage of defamation lawsuits against others. The legal actions come amid a broader government crackdown on the media. Several…
NOVEMBER 19, 2005 POSTED: December 2, 2005 Al-ThawryFikri Qassim, Al-Thawry Salahaddin al-Dakkak, Al-Thawry LEGAL ACTION A Sana’a court fined the opposition weekly Al-Thawry one million Yemeni riyals ($5,500) for defaming two government officials. The newspaper already faced 13 defamation charges for criticizing the authorities and risked being closed down if convicted on any one of…
New York, November 4, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by the failure of the Yemeni government to investigate the severe beating of cameraman Mujeeb Suwailih by Yemeni police officers on October 29. Attacks on the press have intensified throughout 2005, but the Yemeni government has not prevented or seriously investigated them, CPJ…