RSF condemns Shiite militia ‘harassment’ of Yemen media

Reporters Without Borders on Wednesday condemned what it called the “increasing harassment” by Shiite Huthi militiamen controlling the Yemeni capital of the country’s media.

The watchdog RSF said it “deplores the harassment of Yemen’s media by the Huthi rebels, which increased in August and again since their arrival in the capital in September.”

It cited a Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate report on at least 67 cases in which journalists, media outlets and media support institutions were the targets of death threats, abductions and looting over the past eight months.

On March 5, the Huthis kidnapped two journalists working for Akhbar al-Youm daily - Abdelwahed Nejjar and Fuad Zubayri, RSF said, quoting the YJS.

“We condemn these deliberate attacks on media and journalists, which pose a real danger for freedom of information and the political transition under way in Yemen,” said the RSF’s Virginie Dangles.

The Huthis descended from their stronghold in Yemen’s northern highlands last year and overran Sanaa in September and have since consolidated their grip on power.

President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi this week declared the southern port city of Aden as Yemen's new capital.