Washington, D.C., June 5, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Thursday condemned the issuance of arrest warrants for three Yemeni journalists and the nine-hour detention of two others, who were forced to delete a Facebook post about an assault.
The security directorate in eastern Hadramout Governorate issued the three arrest warrants against Sabri bin Mukhshen, Abduljabar Bajabeer, and Muzahim Bajaber based on an April order by the Specialized Criminal Prosecution, which prosecutes high-level cases, including those against journalists. The order did not specify the alleged offense.
The arrest warrants violate Article 13 of Yemen’s Press and Publications Law, which protects journalists from punishment for publishing their opinions unless these break the law.
On May 23, journalists Abdulrahman Al-Humaidi and Najm Al-Din Al-Subari were detained in Marib over Al-Humaidi’s Facebook post that criticized an armed assault on Al-Subari by a militia member affiliated with the state security forces in the western city of Marib. The journalists said in an official complaint to the Media Freedoms Observatory, a local press freedom group, that they were threatened, had their phones confiscated, and were held without legal justification, and that Al-Humaidi was forced to delete the post and sign a pledge not to report on Marib Governorate without prior approval from its security forces.
“The arrest warrants against journalists Sabri bin Mukhshen, Abduljabar Bajabeer, and Muzahim Bajaber, and the detention and intimidation of Abdulrahman Al-Humaidi and Najm Al-Din Al-Subari, are further evidence of the alarming decline in press freedom in areas controlled by Yemen’s Internationally Recognized Government,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “We call on the government to immediately drop the arrest warrants, hold those responsible for the illegal detention accountable, and allow all journalists to report freely.”
Yemen has been mired in civil war since 2014, when Houthi rebels ousted the government from the capital Sanaa. In 2015, a Saudi-backed coalition intervened to try and restore the government to power.
Journalists face grave threats in areas controlled by both groups. Violations — ranging from arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance to unfair trials — are carried out with near-total impunity.
CPJ emailed the Ministry of Human Rights for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.