Sanaa, 30 September 2025 — International press freedom advocates are calling for the immediate release of Majed Zayed, a Yemeni freelance journalist reportedly abducted by Houthi authorities in Sanaa on 23 September during a wider sweep of detentions targeting media workers, writers, and activists.
Enforced Disappearance Allegations
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Zayed was seized at night after leaving a medical facility. His detention came just days after he posted a patriotic song online to mark Yemen’s September 26 Republic Day, a national holiday the Houthis refuse to recognise. His current whereabouts remain unknown, and rights groups have described the case as an enforced disappearance.
The abduction followed the reported detention of poet Oras Al-Iryani, part of what observers say is an annual pattern of arrests around Republic Day. CPJ noted that seven other journalists remain in Houthi custody, including Mohamed Al-Miyahi, who has been imprisoned since last year.
Crackdown on Dissent
The SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties linked the arrests to reprisals against individuals commemorating the 1962 revolution through social media posts or flag displays. Houthi officials had recently warned of “hostile plots,” a pretext rights monitors say is often used to justify intensified crackdowns on dissent.
Broader Media Repression
The threats to journalists extend beyond Houthi-controlled areas. In July, Yemen’s Internationally Recognized Government (IRG) detained TV director Abduljabar Bajabeer in Hadramout, drawing criticism from rights groups. A Human Rights Watch report has documented abuses by all major parties to the conflict — including the Houthis, the IRG, and the Southern Transitional Council — ranging from arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance to torture and newsroom closures.
Access to information has also been curtailed. Earlier this month, authorities blocked the independent outlet Barran Press in Marib. Yemen ranks 154th of 180 countries in the latest World Press Freedom Index, reflecting its highly polarized and repressive media environment.
Deadliest Attack in Years
The crackdown comes weeks after an Israeli airstrike on a newspaper complex in Sanaa killed dozens, including 31 journalists and media staff. CPJ described it as the deadliest attack on journalists in 16 years and the second-deadliest ever recorded by the group.
Calls for Action
Press groups have urged Houthi authorities to disclose Zayed’s location, grant him access to counsel and family, and release him immediately. More broadly, they are calling on all parties in Yemen to end arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and intimidation of journalists, and to safeguard access to independent information in a country where media freedoms are under unprecedented strain.
Sources: Committee to Protect Journalists, Yemen Monitor, Human Rights Watch.
|Excerpts from jurist.org article by Mahmoud Chahrour | U. Ottawa Faculty of Law, CA
