Yemen: IFJ urges Houthi group to revoke death sentence imposed on media owner

The owner of Yemen Digital Media and Yemen Live for Media Production and Satellite Broadcasting, Taha Ahmed Rashid Al-Maamari, was sentenced to death and his properties confiscated on fabricated charges by a Houthi court in the capital Sana'a, reported the Yemeni Journalists' Syndicate (YJS). The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, the YJS, in condemning the arbitrary ruling and urges de facto authorities and other armed groups to end their use of the judiciary to attempt to intimidate and silence journalists and media workers in the country and abroad.

Credit: YJS.

On 24 September, the Houthi-controlled Court of First Instance in Sana'a sentenced to death the owner of two media companies in Yemen, Taha Al-Maamari, and ordered the confiscation of his properties in the country and abroad, according to the journalist's publicationon social media.

Al-Maamari denounced several violations against his media companies by the Houthi faction. In April 2018, an armed group stormed the offices of Yemen Digital Media and Yemen Live for Media Production and Satellite Broadcasting, seized the content and confiscated some equipment, under the pretext of the owner's alleged support for the 'aggression' by one of Yemen's warring parties.

The media owner has been living in Spain since 2015.

Following the ruling, the YJS expressedits full support to Al-Maamari and rejected the verdict. "This unjust ruling threatens the life of an individual working in the media sector and denies him his rights, on the basis of fabricated charges [...] We denounce the use of the judiciary as a tool to target media institutions and journalists, dragging them into the country's ongoing conflicts with the aim of seizing their assets and intimidating those working and investing in the media sector".

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "We condemn the tactics carried out by the de facto authorities in Sana'a, including the arbitrary sentencing against our colleague Al-Maamari, which only seeks to prevent journalists from doing their jobs and to discourage media owners from investing in the media industry in Yemen. We call on the international community and journalists' groups across the world to advocate for overturning the unjust ruling and campaigning for the release of all imprisoned journalists in the country".

The IFJ urges the de facto authorities to overturn the death sentence and confiscation of Al-Maamari's properties in Yemen and abroad.