CPJ, partners call for the immediate release of Yemeni journalist Naseh Shaker

The Committee to Protect Journalists and 34 other human rights and press freedom organizations, in a joint letter on December 17, 2025, urged Yemeni authorities in Aden—including both the internationally recognized government led by the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and the de facto Southern Transitional Council (STC)—to immediately and unconditionally release freelance journalist Naseh Shaker, who has been detained for over two years.

Shaker, a renowned Yemeni journalist who has contributed to several media outlets, was arrested in Aden on November 19, 2023, and subjected to enforced disappearance. In February 2025, a released detainee informed his family that he was being held at al-Nasr Brigade’s prison, an STC-affiliated Security Belt Forces facility, and was being tried by the Specialized Criminal Appeals Prosecution.

The letter emphasized that the charges against Shaker—including “using his status as a journalist and local and international media outlets to spread false news, incite against public order, harm national interests, and provide media support to the Houthi group”—are entirely inconsistent with his professional record and the editorial standards of the internationally recognized media outlets to which he contributes.

Read the full statement in English and Arabic.