On December 28, 2024, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula announced that it had executed 11 people, including Yemeni journalist Mohammed al-Maqri, whom the group had accused of spying.
On October 12, 2015, the terror group abducted Al-Maqri, a correspondent for the television channel Yemen Today, while he was covering an anti-Al-Qaeda protest in Mukalla, the capital of the southern Hadramaut governorate. Al-Qaeda held Al-Maqri until his death. Armed men also raided his home during his detention, looting personal documents, including his marriage certificate and private photographs.
Al-Maqri’s abduction came amid a wave of kidnappings targeting journalists who covered public protests against Al-Qaeda. Other reporters, including Amir Ba’awidhan and Amin al-Hamid, were also detained as part of the crackdown, according to the Media Freedoms Observatory, a local press freedom organization. While some journalists were later released, Al-Maqri remained in the group’s custody until news of his execution was made public on December 28, 2024.
One of the former captives, journalist Amir Ba’awidhan, gave an account of the brutal torture he and his colleagues had endured during captivity, including beatings, suspension, electric shocks, and psychological abuse.
On January 8, Audrey Azoulay, the director-general of UNESCO, condemned Al-Maqri’s killing and called for justice for the group that had held him.