Statement: International Day for the Right to the Truth

The Media Freedoms Observatory Calls for the Disclosure of the Fate of Forcibly Disappeared Journalists

Coinciding with the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims — observed annually on March 24 — we at the Media Freedoms Observatory remind the world of the dire and alarming conditions that journalists in Yemen continue to face, due to the brutal and arbitrary practices of the warring parties against freedom of opinion and expression.

Since the outbreak of the war in 2015, the conflicting parties have committed gross violations of human rights, including extrajudicial killings, the planting of explosives in journalists’ vehicles, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and other forms of cruel treatment, as well as unfair trials.

Over the past nine years, violations against male and female journalists have escalated dramatically, reaching more than 2,000 documented cases, including 54 killings — at least two of whom were female journalists. All of these violations have occurred with total impunity.

Many detained journalists were subjected to enforced disappearance — with the duration of disappearance varying from one journalist to another — before the authorities even acknowledged their detention. During these periods, journalists were subjected to torture, solitary confinement, prolonged interrogations, electric shocks, and other forms of abuse. Some of them remain forcibly disappeared in prisons run by the Houthi (Ansar Allah) group, the internationally recognized government, or Al-Qaeda. Their fate remains unknown, raising serious questions — most pressingly: Were they executed or are they still alive?

Among the forcibly disappeared journalists are: Waheed Al-Sufi, Nasih Shakir, and Mohammed Al-Muqri. We call on the international community to intensify pressure on all parties involved to disclose the truth about the fate of these disappeared journalists, and to immediately release them or bring them to court if any charges are proven against them.

There is also a clear and unjustified delay in legal proceedings for several journalists, denying them the right to a fair trial in accordance with national laws and international conventions. These journalists are being tried in criminal courts that lack jurisdiction over press and publication cases — a deliberate move to prolong their detention.

These violations have severely curtailed media freedoms in Yemen, as evidenced by years of documentation by the Media Freedoms Observatory. The absence of law, legal protection, and independent security institutions — due to the ongoing conflict — has made it increasingly difficult to ensure legal safeguards for journalists, emboldening various actors to escalate their abuses against the press.

On this day, we renew our call to the international community and organizations concerned with freedom of expression to continue pressing for truth and accountability. The families of those who were assassinated, forcibly disappeared, or executed following politically motivated trials have the right to know the full truth about the fate of their loved ones.

We also urge international organizations to visit detention facilities to witness firsthand the suffering endured by detainees, and to expose these violations to the world in order to exert further pressure on the perpetrators to cease these arbitrary practices and be held accountable under international laws and conventions related to press freedom and human rights.

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