New York, December 28, 2009—A Yemeni reporter is being
held without charge after being arrested on Sunday while covering clashes between security forces and
separatists in Yemen’s southern province of Dhala, according
to local news reports. The arrest is the latest attempt by the government to
silence media outlets and journalists covering civil unrest in the southern
part of the country.
Khaled al-Jahafi, a journalist for the news Web site Al-Sahwa
Net, was taken into police custody as he was photographing the
confrontation in Dhala, according to local news reports and the
Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate. The reporter was allegedly beaten by police officers,
according to those sources.
“We condemn the continued harassment of journalists in Yemen, particularly the most recent arrest of
Khaled al-Jahafi,” said Mohamed Abdel Dayem,
CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program
coordinator. “We call on Yemeni authorities to release him immediately. We also
demand that the government investigate his reported beating and punish those
responsible.”
Security forces had tried to arrest al-Jahafi once before,
in October, at Dhala
University where he
teaches, according to news reports. CPJ has documented numerous other Yemeni government attacks
on the press, including the banning
of newspapers, the detention
of at least two other journalists without charge, and an armed attack
on the offices of a newspaper. CPJ research also shows that at least one
journalist has disappeared
in recent months under circumstances leading many to suspect government
involvement.
“Khaled’s case is another blow to press freedom in Yemen and shows
the difficult conditions under which journalists are working,” Samia al-Aghraby, chairwoman of the
Freedoms Committee of the Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate, told CPJ. “The government needs to prevent the recurrence of
arrests and assaults on journalists in the performance of their duties.”