| Yemen: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Media | ||
| Indicators | Score | |
| 5 | Are media and free speech protected? | 100 |
| 6 | Are citizens able to form print media entities? | 38 |
| 7 | Are citizens able to form broadcast (radio and TV) media entities? | 0 |
| 8 | Can citizens freely use the Internet? | 25 |
| 9 | Are the media able to report on corruption? | 8 |
| 10 | Are the media credible sources of information? | 40 |
| 11 | Are journalists safe when investigating corruption? | 33 |
Indicator and sub-Indicator Details
| 5 | Are media and free speech protected? | |||||||
| 5a: In law, freedom of the media is guaranteed. | ||||||||
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Comments: Many newspapers were either shut down, or their editors were arrested or "roughed up. The law guarantees freedom of the press, but, for all practical purposes, the law is meaningless, especially as there are heavy restrictions on independent or opposition party media, barring independent or private media channels. Freedom of broadcast media is non-existent. There are now some independent satellite TV channels, but they are owned by elements of the establishment, including the ruling party or well-placed dignitaries, who are partners with the ruling regime.
References: [ LINK ]
Peer Review Comments: There is an article, namely article 4, mentioned in the Press Law that guarantees freedom of media in the country.
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| 5b: In law, freedom of speech is guaranteed. | ||||||||
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Comments: "The authorities were accused of using excessive force against protesters and rioters demonstrating against fuel-price increases in 2005; more than 40 people were killed and hundreds were injured in the violence." From Freedom House The report also notes serious infringement on the freedom of expression envisioned by the New Press and Publications Law: "Government authorities continued to use the Press and Publications Law to restrict press freedom. By the end of 2005, the Ministry of Information had presented a new draft press law to the Majlis al-Shura that would end the jailing of journalists for press offenses. However, restrictions concerning criticism of the president or offense to the national interest remain, and the requirements for practicing journalists have been stiffened. The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate objected to the draft law, saying it aimed to further restrict press freedom in Yemen. The government in May 2006 suspended the initiative until such objections could be resolved." The government is adamantly pushing for the amended law, and in all likelihood it will pass.
References: Yemeni Constitution Press and Publications Law No. 25 1990 Freedom House Report 2007
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| 6 | Are citizens able to form print media entities? | |||||||
| 6a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to form a print media entity. | ||||||||
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Comments: Restrictions and obstacles get harder as time goes on, and requirements increase from year to year. Financial requirements make it difficult now for many people to set up a newspaper (which the proposed new draft Press and Publications Law sets as being up to 5,000,000 rials (US$24,869) for individuals and 15,000,000 rials (US$74,608) for corporations or collective groupslarge sums for most aspiring journalists or journalist establishment in Yemen)." Media amalgamations are almost impossible, unless they are associated with government entities or the ruling party. Al-Diayar newspaper has had many difficulties getting printed. Even after obtaining a license, only 60 issues have been issued in three years. International reaction to the governments proposed amendments to Yemen's Press and Publications Law has been unanimous in condemning the measure as a mechanism of heightened censorship and an infringement on the rights of the Yemeni public. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) recently issued an alert outlining numerous and often violent attacks on Yemeni journalists. CPJ noted that journalists have been stabbed, shot, bombed, arrested, kidnapped and threatened. Newspapers have been fined, closed and cloned, that is to say that the government establishs "similarly titled and similar-looking newspapers to undercut them and confuse readers." A transcript of a journalist's tapped telephone conversation with his wife was circulated via e-mail. According to CPJ research, "Witnesses and evidence point to involvement by government officials and suspected state agents in a number of brutal assaults"
References: [ LINK ]
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| 6b: In law, where a print media license is necessary, there is an appeal mechanism if a license is denied or revoked. | ||||||||
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Comments: In most cases, revoked licenses were revalidated, but only after ardent efforts to revitalize the publication. However Al-Shura and Al-Umma Newspapers are still banned to this day. The only viable channel for appeals, in practice, is the courts, but then only when pressure from the international community and public support have caused the executive branch to give its nod of approval, as it did in the case of Alwasat and Yemen Observer. References: [ LINK ]
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| 6c: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a print media license within a reasonable time period. | ||||||||
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Comments: The new press law would certainly add more difficulties, especially with the increased requirements and joining the Yemen Journalists Syndicate (YJS) membership being mandatory. The YJS chairman is currently the head of Saba News Agency, a government news agency. Even now there are hindrances to getting a license. References: [ LINK ]
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| 6d: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a print media license at a reasonable cost. | ||||||||
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Comments: Freedom House clearly finds the licensing of print media not so easy: "While a number of licenses for new print media were attained during the year, over 60 requests have been denied since 2006." Sometimes even the prime minister's interference is not helpful (see last link).
References: [ LINK ]. Report 2008, Freedom House
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| 7 | Are citizens able to form broadcast (radio and TV) media entities? | |||||||
| 7a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to form a broadcast (radio and TV) media entity. | ||||||||
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Comments: No independent or opposition-party broadcast media are licensed. Even ham radios cannot be set up. The few "nongovernmental" channels open on satellite TV are operated from overseas, and they are mostly sponsored by the ruling party or by well-placed "trusted' dignitaries or businessmen, . A law that will permit broadcast has been proposed, but it is still on the drawing board. References: [ LINK ]
Peer Review Comments: Also, it is not allowed for local radio stations to operate at all. In 2008, the Ministry of Information blocked 21 small, local radio stations in Hadramout Governorate in southeastern Yemen.
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| 7b: In law, where a broadcast (radio and TV) media license is necessary, there is an appeal mechanism if a license is denied or revoked. | ||||||||
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Comments: No broadcast media are allowed, not even ham radios. Studies done by numerous international human rights groups and international agency show that independent broadcasting is not allowed. The government has a monopoly on TV and radio broadcasting, which reaches a significantly greater segment of the population than do printed media. References: [ LINK ]
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| 7c: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a broadcast (radio and TV) media license within a reasonable time period. | ||||||||
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Comments: The state has a total monopoly on broadcast media. Some satellite TV channels are now being run on an experimental basis, but they are run from overseas: "Unlike newspapers and electronic websites, the official authorities still maintain a complete monopoly of TV satellite channels. This prompted different businessmen and parties, after failing to convince authorities, to seek establishing new TV satellite channels and to telecast their programs from outside the country, as is the case with Al-Saeeda and Saba, due to be launched soon." From Yemen Post
References: [ LINK ]
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| 7d: In practice, where necessary, citizens can obtain a broadcast (radio and TV) media license at a reasonable cost. | ||||||||
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Comments: "The state exercises a monopoly on broadcast stations and does not allow private media to have their own channels." References: [ LINK ] Global Campaign for Free Expression, Article 19
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| 8 | Can citizens freely use the Internet? | |||||||
| 8a: In practice, the government does not prevent citizens from accessing content published on-line. | ||||||||
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Comments: Walid Al-Saqqaf is the creator and owner of blocked Yemenportal.net. He has launched a campaign to seek freedom for electronic news reporting and other activist website activities. The car belonging to the website office was vandalized, but no staff member was hurt. His website still cannot be reached in Yemen. Bogs emanating from overseas, such as the websites of Jane Novak (Armies of Liberation and My Pet Jawa Reports) are also blocked.
References: Interview with Walid Al-Saqqaf, 2007 Personal efforts to reach blocked websites
Peer Review Comments: Citizens are prevented from accessing content published online by blocking some local news Web sites. But their blocking does not continue too long as the government does so as a kind of punishment on those news Web sites that provide content critical of the government's practices. Web sites that contain adult materials are sometimes blocked. Other kinds of Web sites are freely accessed by citizens.
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| 8b: In practice, the government does not censor citizens creating content on-line. | ||||||||
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Comments: This is true as long as the content is not in violation of "Islamic doctrine" and does not touch upon high government officials. References: Interview with Walid Al-Saqqaf, 2007
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| 9 | Are the media able to report on corruption? | |||||||
| 9a: In law, it is legal to report accurate news even if it damages the reputation of a public figure. | ||||||||
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Comments: "The 1990 Yemeni Press Law remains a formidable threat to press freedom." From Free Media The Khaiwani case indicates that the law is far from being a guarantor of press freedom, as the case is exactly the reverse of what the question entails (see third link). The law bans any discussion of named officials involved in corruption, and no press reports can touch the president or any highly placed members of the ruling regime. References: [ LINK ] Press Law of 1990
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| 9b: In practice, the government or media owners/distribution groups do not encourage self-censorship of corruption-related stories. | ||||||||
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Comments: "Yemen's situation led Interior Minister Rashad Al-Alimi and Information Minister Hasan Al-Lawzi to direct strong and threatening messages to journalists and website editors to stop what they call the beyond-the-limit writings that target high-ranking officials and damage national unity and security." From Yemen Post Even with self-cernsorhip, it is difficult to know where the line should be drawn.
References: [ LINK ]
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| 9c: In practice, there is no prior government restraint (pre-publication censoring) on publishing corruption-related stories. | ||||||||
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Comments: While this maybe not the case in the independent press, the government is subject to pre-censorship. There is some prior censorship of another kind, as the last source shows: "Yet many visitors said that the (book) fair was subjected to prior censorship and believed that this was behind the absence of books on politically sensitive issues such as Shiite doctrine." References: Interviews with government media media
Peer Review Comments: These are isolated cases in state-run media. The majority of state-run media writers do not do stories critical of government corruption. They, by one way or another, side with the government. Corruption-related stories published by state-run media focus on the stumbling of development projects. There are only three state-run newspapers, in addition to the radio and TV stations.
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| 10 | Are the media credible sources of information? | |||||||
| 10a: In law, print media companies are required to publicly disclose their ownership. | ||||||||
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Comments: Owners must be revealed as individuals, corporations, organizations, etc., and thier identity must be authenticated to ensure that they are Yemeni citizens. References: Law No. 20 for Press and Publications 1991, Article 46
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| 10b: In law, broadcast (radio and TV) media companies are required to publicly disclose their ownership. | ||||||||
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Comments: There is talk of possible private media being permitted, but there is no concrete law to regulate the ownership of private media channels, since they are banned altogether. References: [ LINK ]
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| 10c: In practice, journalists and editors adhere to strict, professional practices in their reporting. | ||||||||
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Comments: The organizational by-laws of the Yemeni Journalist Syndicate does not contain any professional guidelines or ethical standards from the perspective of a modern free press.
References: [ LINK ]
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| 10d: In practice, during the most recent election, political parties or independent candidates received fair media coverage. | ||||||||
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Comments: Although some coverage was given to other candidates for president in 2006, it was neither fair nor equal. The dominant press organs (backing the government and the ruling party) spared no effort to harness the most time, space, energy and resources for the incumbent. References: [ LINK ]
Peer Review Comments: The European Union Election Observation Mission to monitor the 2006 elections said in its final report that the print media generally covered all major election events by all candidates and major political parties, although tended to show partisanship when doing so. The three state-run newspapers offered the five presidential candidates a roughly equitable level of access.
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| 10e: In practice, political parties and candidates have equitable access to state-owned media outlets. | ||||||||
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Comments: Although some coverage was given to other candidates for president in 2006, it was neither fair nor equal. The dominant press organs (backing the government and the ruling party) spared no effort to harness the most time, space, energy and resources for the incumbent. Moreover, political parties have no access to publicly owned media. They cannot approach public media channels to ask for coverage or to complain about equal time or equal coverage, or the lack of it. "While the Election Law grants candidates and parties the right to equal media access and requires a minimal level of media coverage of individual candidates, it does not require the state media to cover candidates neutrally or grant them a minimum amount of airtime. Some provisions on media coverage of elections are unclear or restrictive, for example local and provincial radio stations are prohibited from covering the campaigns of local election candidates. It is also unclear if candidates or parties can place paid advertising in the media." From News Yemen Managers of these organs decided how much time other political parties were allotted, and the decisions were deliberately made to not highlight any positive attributes of the other contender for the presidency in 2006.
References: [ LINK ]
Peer Review Comments: To quote the European Union Election Observation Mission's report: "The State media fulfilled their obligation to provide presidential candidates with direct access to address voters, enabling voters to benefit from the opportunity to gain information on the different candidates and their platforms. This was a notable step in Yemen as, previously, the State media has rarely allowed coverage of opposition politicians and policies. The amount of free airtime provided (36 hours) was generous. Overall, the level of access given to candidates was roughly equitable."
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| 11 | Are journalists safe when investigating corruption? | |||||||
| 11a: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been imprisoned. | ||||||||
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Comments: In addition to Al-Khaiwani, arrests of journalists include the following, as reported by Arabian News: "In addition, the editor and a freelance journalist of the daily Al-Sharea have also been arrested and are being prosecuted for disseminating reports liable to undermine army morale , according to the group Reporters Without Borders." Other journalists were arrested for laughing in court at the trial of another journalist, Mohammed Al-Makaleh, who was sentenced to 14 hours but was not released until he had spent more than two months in jail, as the judge refused to accept his release on bail. From Foreign Affairs References: [ LINK ]
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| 11b: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been physically harmed. | ||||||||
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Comments: All journalists who are arrested, including Khaiwani, are usually subjected to physical assault and rough manhandling. There were attacks, both direct and by proxy, on assets and offices. References: [ LINK ]
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| 11c: In practice, in the past year, no journalists investigating corruption have been killed. | ||||||||
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Comments: A guard was killed as gunment tried to attack the editor of Al-ayyam. The attack by armed men presents a likely possibility of death.
References: [ LINK ]
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