In Yemen your journalism ID is a liability

In a commentary in the Guardian on September 29, CPJ’s Mohamed Abdel Dayem describes how new media restrictions, erected under the cover of state security, will snuff out what little remains of press freedom in Yemen.

Dayem quotes a Yemeni journalist: “In Yemen, you conceal your identity as a journalist. Your journalism ID is a liability, not an asset. It turns you into a target.”

The piece comes as CPJ, with the release of the special report “In Yemen, brutal repression cloaked in law“, highlights how President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s administration is erecting an elaborate legal structure intended to further restrict news coverage and provide a veneer of legitimacy for its brutal actions in Yemen.