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17:55 GMT
BRUSSELS, Dec 5 (KUNA) -- The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on Tuesday raised its deepest concerns about the safety and lives of at least 30 journalists and media workers of the TV channel Yemen Today.
The staff are being held inside the Television building in the capital Sanaa, following the Houthis militias' raid on the station of 3 December. During the attack, at least three building guards were injured, noted the IFJ in a statement.
The rebels seized the TV channel after the broadcast of former Yemeni President Saleh last Saturday, in which he called on his followers and Yemeni people to revolt against the Houthis. Saleh was killed yesterday by Houthi militias while trying to escape the capital Sanaa.
The IFJ called on the Houthis to respect journalists' independence and to release all journalists and media staff currently being held at the Yemen Today TV.
"We are sadly witnessing a constant and unbearable harassment of journalists in Yemen, one of the most dangerous countries in the world. No journalist should be abused for doing their job and holding them as hostages is inacceptable," said IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger.
The IFJ is also calling on the Houthis to release 14 other journalists they are holding in their prisons, some of them have been detained for over two years.
The Brussels-based IFJ represents 600,000 journalists across 146 countries. (end)
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