Sana’a (Tuesday, January 6th 2015(:

Freedom Foundation for media freedom, rights and development condemned the murder of Al-Masirah TVcorrespondent, Khaled Al-Washaly in Dhamar province, while he was covering the dismantle of an explosive device planted by Al-Qaeda members near a school in Dhamar province.
In a report to Freedom Foundation, Al-Washaly colleague, Abdul-Hamid Al-Ghurbani clarified, “At 1:00 pm, Sunday, January 4th 2015, the correspondent of Al-Masirah TV went to cover the dismantle of an explosive device, after transporting it from the school to the guesthouse. While the experts of the people's committees affiliating Ansar Allah (Houthis) were dismantling the explosive device, it exploded and killed Khaled Al-Washaly and explosives experts.”
And denounced the abducting of female TV anchor of (Yemen today) private TV Dalia Dael, by unknown armed gang, on Friday, December 26, 2014 and interrogated her and detained about 24 hours, until they were released her in the next day.
As well as Freedom Foundation condemned the kidnapping of Azaal TV filmmaker, Maad Al-Zikri, from his home at gun point , also attacking, beating and interrogating him by Houthi gunmen, in the capital Sana’a, on Friday, January 2nd 2015.
As well as Freedom Foundation condemned the attack on Al-Jazeera TV crew composed of the female correspondent Hadeel Al-Yamani, the cameraman Amin Rushdi as well as the local TV cameraman Abdul-Aziz Mohammed Al-Sabri, on Monday morning, January 5th 2015 by the Houthi checkpoint, who also confiscated their TV camera and has not returned it to them, at the entrance of the tribal Arhab area, near Sana’a International Airport.
As well as Freedom Foundation condemned the attack and the attempt to confiscate the cameraman of (Sky News Arabia) TV in Yemen, Sami Al-Ansi, by gunmen on Saturday, January 3rd 2015, while he was covering the security points updated by Ansar Allah Movement (Houthi group) in the capital Sana’a, as well as the murder threat of Al-Sahafah newspaper’s editor-in-chief ,Saleh Al-Soraimi in the capital Sana’a, as well as the serious threat of the writer Ghamdan Al-Yusufi on Sunday, January 4th 2015.
In his report to Freedom Foundation, Al-Zikri said, “A group of masked gunmen came to the house on Friday afternoon and took my brother and me by force and at gunpoint to an unknown location, where they detained me, beaten, interrogated, accused me with false charges and continued torturing and detaining me until the next day.”
For his part, Al-Soraimi said that a well-known Houthi man intercepted him at 12:00 am, Friday, January 2nd2015, while he was in a street of the capital Sana’a. He spoke to him about the TV interviews and his media work and threatened to murder him.
The cameraman Abdulaziz Al-Sabri said that Houthi gunmen stopped him and his TV team at a Houthi checkpoint in Sheraa village, Arhab area and confiscated his camera.
As Freedom Foundation condemns the murder of Al-Washaly, who is the first journalist killed in early 2015, and condemns the violations, attacks, threats and other charges, which occurred during the first week of January 2015, it bears the armed group the full responsibility.
Freedom Foundation also demands the new government, interior ministry and security services in the capital Sana’a and other provinces to play a role in reducing violations, and it bears them the responsibility of protecting the journalists and prosecuting the offenders so as not to go unpunished, especially after the increase of serious violations on media and expression freedom, and human rights in general.
|