Houthi militia once again on RSF’s list of predators of press freedom

Houthi militia once again on RSF’s list of predators of press freedom

\The Houthi militia, besides many other militias, terrorist and criminal organizations, authoritarian government officials and religious leaders, has been put for six years in row on the list of "Predators of Press Freedom" released by Reporters without Borders to mark the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists Wednesday.

According to Reporters without Borders’ report, Yemen has witnessed countless abuses against the media since the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of large parts of the country in September 2014.

“In the first eight months after the Houthis occupied the capital, the Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate reported 67 attacks on journalists that were carried out to prevent the victims from doing their job”, RSF reported.

Reporters without Borders also explained that many witnesses have reported torture in detention and many journalists have been either abducted or forcibly disappeared.

The international organization's report has included a kill tally with the size of violations, which indicated that rebels in Sanaa have held hostage at least 13 journalists and media workers from all media critical of the militia hostage.

Paris-based international media watchdog concluded in its report that "violations committed by the rebels decisively influenced the ranking of the predator's country in RSF's World Press Freedom Index, where Yemen has been ranked 170 out of 180 countries.

The report has been released to mark the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, which is recognized by the United Nations every November 2nd.

"Most of these press freedom predators have been preying on the media for years, some for decades," Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) said in a statement issued Wednesday, November 2, 2016.

It listed 35 politicians, religious leaders, militias, and criminal organizations in a unique online gallery with "hunting permits" for each, detailing how and to what extent they "prey" on the media.

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