SANAA (Monday, October 1, 2012(

Freedom Foundation for media freedom, rights and development has revealed that violations against media freedom are on the rise during the third quarter of this year, (July –August- September 2012), which confirms that the status of press freedoms in Yemen still faces a real threat.

The Freedom Foundation mentioned that it recorded dozens of violations against press freedom in the Yemeni arena during the third quarter of this year through the monitoring unit and advocacy of the Foundation. The number of cases recorded is 57, involving 112 victims of journalists and various media outlets.

Freedom Foundation for media freedom, rights and development concluded its advanced training course named (TV Professional Presenter) successfully unprecedented in Yemen, according to the trainees and organizers and considered exclusive in its field, in which held in collaboration with the public affairs section at the U.S. embassy, Sanaa.

The president of the Freedom Foundation Khaled al-Hammadi said “this advanced training course, which lasted two weeks to 18 TV presenters from 9 state-owned and private TV channels, has achieved its goals and achieved great success, larger than expected, and that this success gave the Freedom Foundation a motivation and a strong incentive to continue organizing such specialized courses for media.

Freedom Foundation (FF) for media freedom, rights and development opens today its 2 weeks advanced training course for TV presenters named (TV Professional Presenter) in Sana'a for 18 TV presenters from 9 TV channels state-owned and private channels, which organized in collaboration with Public Affairs Section in the US embassy Sana'a  .

The deputy of information minister Ahmed Nasser Alhamati opens this quality training course formally in the Freedom Foundation training hall in Sana'a, who appreciates the efforts of FF to organize this quality training by high qualified trainers from abroad

Freedom Foundation for media freedom, rights and development (FF) has strongly condemned the arrest of two cameramen of the Arab Agency (AAM) for Media, Ali Abdullah Khalid and Abdul-Rahman al-Khalid.

 The two cameramen were arrested by guards of Sana'a Radio during their coverage of the blast that targeted the Defense Minister in front of the Cabinet and Sana'a Radio, and their cameras and video cassettes were confiscate .

Freedom Foundation for media freedom, rights, development (FF) has voiced its deep concerns about killing threats against a program  presenter of Suhail TV Mohammad Al-Roboa, and the author  of (Akes Khat) Hassan Anab, demanding the concerned security services to protect them. 

Al-Roboa and Anab told FF that they received killing threats on Sunday from unknown callers, pointing that the numbers of callers were hidden.

Alsahwah.net- Freedom Foundation for media freedom, rights and development (FF)  has called to adopt a media policy of the transitional stage as an important step to achieve transitional justice and rule of law that insure freedom of expression and end political dominance over state media. 

FF also condemned the suspension of the Sana'a Radio broadcaster Ahmed Saleh Thabit al-Naqeeb after he named Al-Saleh Mosque as "the people mosque" during live broadcasting of al-Fajr Adhan(the call to the dawn prayer) on Thursday, August 2, 2012.

Freedom Foundation for media freedom, rights and development (FF) denounced the assault on Abdul-Razaq Hashim Al-Azazi, a journalist, and confiscation of his cell phone as he was covering the storm against the Interior Ministry by gunmen who some of them were dressed in military uniforms.

Al-Azazi who works as a managing editor of Shabakat Sawat Al-Huriah (freedom voice network), reporter with Al-Shara'a newspaper, said that an officer in a plain clothes, Abdullah Al-Shatabi, along with other police soldiers confiscated his assets nearby the ministry.     "One of the soldier advised Al-Shatabi to give my cell phone back, but he verbally abused meand tore the phone memory" he added.

Freedom Foundation for media freedom, rights and development (FF) has expressed deep concern about the assassination attempt committed against media secretary of President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi, Yahya Al-Arasi .

FF closely followed up this case that was carried out by armed men riding a military vehicle, considering such act a serious sign of targeting  journalists and media practitioners .

Freedom Foundation for media freedoms, rights and development denounces the Press and Print Court's summons of editor-in-chief of Yemen Today newspaper Abdullah Al-Hadhrami and columnist Abdul-Karim Al-Razehi in the wake of a lawsuit filed against them by the Yemeni parliament.

Al-Hadhrami said they were summoned to stand trial next Monday, pointing out that they were called by the court due to the publication of an article written by Al-Razehi in which he dubbed the parliament as "a rotten expired tuna with sewer smell."  

Freedom Foundation for media freedoms, rights and development (FF) has condemned vicious attacks against correspondents of Al-Shara'a Newspaper Mohammad Ghazwan and Yemen Shabab TV Faid Dahan .

Ghazwan and Dahan were subjected to attacks, abuses and confiscations of their equipment, beaten with rifle butts and verbally abused as they were returning from Khawlan, an outskirt of Sana'a on July 1st,  in the wake of covering the event of a military commander abduction, Murad Al-Awbali. 

Dahan told FF that he was held in a checkpoint of tribesmen led by a son of Murad Al-Awbali in "Raimat Humaid" of Sanhan, an outskirt of the capital Sana'a.