A+ A-

Int'l press body condemns abduction of two journalists by Houthis in Yemen

BRUSSELS, March 21 (KUNA) -- The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Tuesday strongly condemned the arrest and detention of two journalists in Yemen.
"This is yet another example of the climate of violence and intimidation which surrounds journalism in Yemen," IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said in a press statement. Reporter Ali al-Saqqaf, and photographer Abdul Hakim Abad were arrested alongside two cooperators Alaa al-Shafi and Kamal al-Shawash in the city of Al Hudayda, it said in a press release.
The pair were detained for more than a week after the al-Houthi group entered the campus of Al Hudaydah University, and abducted them from the Faculty of Arts in the Department of Media on 12 March.
The journalists were working on producing a humanitarian social programme for the Al Ghad Al Mushreq channel.
"Such arrests must end and the policy of targeting independent journalists must be abandoned. Journalists rights must be respected." The Brussels-based IFJ represents around 600,000 journalists across 40 countries worldwide (end) nk.ibi