Washington Post: Journalism in Yemen has become a "profession of death"
English - Saturday 13 November 2021 الساعة 02:22 pm
NewsYemen, translations:
The "Washington Post" newspaper said that the press in Yemen has become a "death profession" in the country that has been witnessing a fierce war for nearly seven years, in the absence of any political solutions in the short term.
The newspaper pointed out that this profession has become dangerous even for its owners who work away from the front lines and the fighting, citing the assassination of the pregnant media, Rasha Abdullah Al-Harazi, after the explosion of a car she was traveling in in the southern city of Aden with her husband, photojournalist, Mahmoud Al-Otmi, who was seriously injured.
A family friend, who declined to be identified, told the American newspaper that Al-Harazi and her husband were on their way to a medical appointment with a gynecologist and obstetrician when their car exploded on Tuesday, while their young son, Jawad, escaped death because he stayed at home with his grandmother.
The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate condemned the incident, which took place about three days ago, and expressed in a statement its fear that this "unprecedented crime" would turn into a precedent in targeting journalists with "those cheap and cowardly methods."
That friend explained that Rasha's husband's escape from death was like a miracle, pointing out that the explosive device was planted under the front seat next to the driver.
A doctor at the hospital where al-Atami is being treated told a Saudi news station that the wounded man suffered serious injuries, including shrapnel injuries, ruptures of tendons and muscles, and fractures in his upper limbs.
He pointed out that his hands were also shattered, and one of his eyes was injured.
For his part, Justin Sheilad, a senior researcher on the Middle East and North Africa at the Committee to Protect Journalists, confirmed that the operation is a precedent in attacking journalists in Aden in this manner.
Last year, journalist Nabil Hassan al-Quaiti was gunned down outside his home in Aden, becoming one of at least 19 journalists killed in Yemen since 2014, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
And Shilad added: "Unfortunately, it seems that the issue of targeting journalists will continue."
In this context, Bassam Saeed, 32, a freelance journalist and activist in Aden, said he and other colleagues now "do not feel safe at all."
He stressed that the assassination "made many, including myself, fear for their lives and reconsider what we were doing (...) Any journalist working to expose violations by any of the parties is a target, and his life is in constant danger."
"Journalism has become a death profession," he continued.
In the same context, Rasha's friend and husband, who is also a journalist, says, "Aden was for us a safe haven, where we felt that we could be away from trouble and danger."
He added, "But we found out that we were wrong. I certainly do not feel safe anymore and I do not know when the hour of my death may come."
Saeed believes that Al-Otmi, and not Rasha, was the target of the assassination, explaining that the husband was focusing on the most sensitive political and conflict issues, while his late wife was content with covering social issues.
He continued by saying, "The couple had a good reputation in the journalistic community," adding: "Mahmoud was loving to help others, while his wife was kind and therefore does not deserve that fate."
