On 7 June, Ali Al-Faqih, editor-in-chief of the website Al-Masdar Online, and Ahmed Yahya Ayed and Muhammad Musad Al-Salihi, editors-in-chief of the news outlet Marib Press, informed YJS that arrest warrants had been issued against them following the publication of investigative reports about alleged corruption involving the judicial authorities of Marib.
The day after, on 8 June, the Marib Prosecution Office issued two new arrest warrants against the bureau chiefs of two satellite TV channels, Yemen Shabab and Al-Mahreya.
Four of the five journalists are currently outside the country. Only Ahmed Yahya Ayed remains in Marib, according to the YJS.
Following these events, the YJS released two statements expressing solidarity with persecuted journalists and rejecting the measures taken by the judicial authorities of Marib. “We denounce the use of the judiciary to terrorise journalists and the media as a miserable attempt to silence media freedom and disrupt the role of media professionals in exposing corruption.”
Along the same lines, IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger condemned the criminalisation of journalistic work by the authorities and reminded them of their obligation to uphold media freedom and ensure that journalists can carry out their work safely. “The issuance of these vile arrest warrants must be immediately revoked. We urge the judicial authorities to cease their harassment and persecution of journalists, who are simply doing their job. We cannot tolerate such a climate of impunity around the shrinking journalistic community in Yemen.”
According to the YJS, there are six journalists currently being held behind bars in Yemen. The IFJ renews its call for the six journalists to be released.