Marsadak Condemns Incitement and Threats Against Journalist Hiba Al-Tabi’i and Her Husband

The Marsadak (Yemeni Media Freedoms Observatory) strongly condemns the incitement and defamation campaign targeting women journalist Hiba Al-Tabi’i and her husband, writer Salah Al-Wasai, which has escalated to direct death threats following the publication of a personal photo of the couple on her page at the Facebook.

According to the report received by the Marsadak, the journalist and her husband were subjected to serious threats from  members of her own family, including an individual holding the rank of officer in the Central Security Forces in Taiz affiliated with the Yemeni government. These threats forced the couple into hiding for a period before they managed to leave Yemen in order to preserve their safety.

The Marsadak warns of the growing wave of hate speech and incitement against Yemeni female journalists, which poses a direct threat to their lives and safety, driving many of them to abandon journalism or resort to using pseudonyms.

Marsadak calls on security forces and local authorities to fulfill their legal responsibilities by providing full protection for journalist Hiba Al-Tabi’i and her husband, and to hold accountable all those involved in incitement or threats, in order to end the prevailing culture of impunity and deter future aggressors.