Houthi militias threats media freedom in Yemen‏

Media freedom has been under severe attack in Yemen in the wake of repeated targeting of media personnel by militias in the country.

A report by the Journalists Syndicate in Yemen showed a 30 percent rise in the number of attacks against the press during the first half of this year, Al Arabiya reported.

A total of 130 attacks were registered compared with 100 during the same period last year. About 200 journalists were at the receiving end of abuses. They also suffered from violation of rights and were subjected to abductions and arbitrary detentions, and even murder, it added.

It also said that as many as 28 cases of physical assault and torture were recorded and there were illegal trials, including one that led to death sentence to journalist Yahya al-Jubahei.

Since the start of the militias' coup in Yemen, 21 journalists have been killed while the fate of 18 journalists is still unknown. They are said to be in different prisons run by the Houthi militias.