“Journalists Without Chains” Condemns Arrest of Journalist Omar Karman in Hadramawt
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
The organization “Journalists Without Chains” on Saturday condemned the arrest of journalist and media activist Omar Karman by security forces in the city of Mukalla, Hadramawt governorate, over his social media posts.
The organization said that taking Karman to the Military Intelligence prison without filing any official charges represents a “blatant assault on freedom of the press and expression,” stressing that the incident reflects a dangerous trend of tightening restrictions on journalists and activists.
Security forces had arrested Karman last Wednesday from his workplace in Mukalla following a post on his Facebook page in which he spoke about what he described as “corruption and manipulation” within the Hadramawt Coast Electricity Corporation. In the post, he accused officials of purchasing diesel from PetroMasila at a subsidized price and reselling it on the black market for profit, which he said has led to repeated power outages and worsening public suffering.
