Al Mukalla: Ten Yemeni journalists have been on hunger strike since May 9 to protest against Al Houthis mistreatment and detention without a fair trial, relatives and officials at Yemen Journalists Syndicates (YJS) said.
“My brother and many other journalists have fainted many times since the beginning of their mass hunger strike on May 9,” Abdullah Al Mansouri, a brother of the incarcerated Tawfik.
Al Mansouri told Gulf News that his friends were arrested in the capital last year.
“There were abducted by Al Houthis from Qaser Al Salam hotel in Sana’a in June 9 last year and were subjected to brutal psychological and physical torture. Their health condition has exacerbated since they decided to go on hunger strike.”
Since grabbing power with the support of allies of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh in September 2014, Al Houthis have carried out a crackdown in which dozens of opponents were thrown behind bars. Many others have fled the capital or sought exile to avoid persecution.
Al Mansouri said that Al Houthis have psychologically mistreated the prisoners to force them to end their hunger strike.
“Al Houthis intimidate them to break their hunger but with no success,”
According to Al Mansouri, the detainees are Abdul Khaleq Amran, Tawfik Al Mansouri, Hassan Annab, Akram Al Walidi, Esam Balghayth, Hareth Hamed, Haythem Al Shahab, Hisham Al Yousifi, Hisham Tarmoum and Salah Al Gayedi.
“We urge all right groups, free people inside and outside Yemen, the UN, UN Special Envoy to Yemen and government delegation in Kuwait to swiftly act to secure release of our colleagues.”
Local and international right groups and NGOs that advocate for press of freedom have also accused the rebel movement storming opposition media outlets, closing others, jailing journalists and assaulting Sana’a-based ones who dared to criticise them.
Earlier this year, two prominent journalists were lift unconscious in Sana’a after men suspected to be from the Al Houthis brutally assaulted them.
Nabeel Al Osaidi, a senior member of YJS, told Gulf News on Sunday Al Houthis have detained 14 journalists while another one is still being held by Al Qaida.
He said the journalists launched a hunger strike to draw attention to their detention. Al Osaidi said arbitrary detention of journalists and attacks on media organisations have reached unprecedented levels.
He said the assault on the media was even worse than when Saleh was in power.
