IPI’s 2006 Press Freedom Review for Yemen [Archives:2007/1053/Reportage]

The Yemeni press is one of the most boisterous in the region and journalists regularly voice criticism of authorities and cover hard-hitting issues. The diversity of the press is threatened, however, by a crackdown in recent years that has seen a number of journalists pay dearly for exercising their watchdog role. The authorities have stepped up their interference with national media by closing down newspapers and harassing journalists. Security forces employ covert and underhanded methods to intimidate the press, and a number of violent attacks have been reported. Attacks on journalists are rarely investigated by the police, meaning that perpetrators are often free from judgment or justice for their crimes.

Punitive actions were taken against four journalists and three newspapers were suspended following the reprinting of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad in February.

While the reprinting of the cartoons prompted a harsh response from a number of governments, the Yemeni authorities were particularly repressive in their efforts to silence discussion and debate of the controversy. On 2 February, authorities ordered the suspension of the private weekly Al Hurriya and issued a warrant for editors Abdulkarim Sabra and Yehiya Al-Abed, after the newspaper reprinted the Danish cartoons. The editors were charged under Article 103 of the Press and Publications Law, which prohibits “printing