Yemeni journalist Mohammed Shu’i al-Rabu’i was shot and killed on 13 February at his home in Beni Qais, in the northwest of the country. Al-Rabu’i, 34, had worked for the monthly newspaper Al Qaira, published by the main opposition party, the Islamic Reform Grouping (Islah), for more than 10 years and had written several articles about the activities of a prominent local criminal gang.

News reports stated that four to five men burst into his home and shot him several times.  Five suspects, all from the same locally well-known crime family, have since been arrested.  They had already been arrested and released without charge for an earlier attack on al-Rabu’i in late 2009.

Accusations of corruption and collusion have been made by local journalists, politicians and human rights campaigners against the local authorities for their role in the initial release of al-Rabu’i’s future alleged assassins.

Beni Qais Security Chief Abdelrazaq Azzaraq said he would take responsibility for the earlier release but would ensure that they were brought to justice this time.  He alleged that al-Rabu’i had been targeted by the Aouni family because of his articles on the family and their activities, including alleged child trafficking. Al-Rabu’i had received a number of death threats.

Speaking at a Press Syndicate meeting in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, Yahya al-Shami, leader of the Socialist Party, condemned the killing, saying it showed the state of hostility towards journalists in the country and could set a dangerous precedent.  Although press freedom and the media environment have gravely deteriorated in the past year, with journalists regularly facing harassment and threats, al-Rabu’i is the first journalist to be killed in the country since Mohammed Salem al-Sagheer, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Al Waseet, was assassinated in 2004.

International Press Institute Director David Dadge said: “IPI condemns the killing of Mohammed Shu’i al-Rabu’i and calls on the Yemeni authorities to prosecute the perpetrators of this dreadful crime. We also offer our condolences to Mr al-Rabu’i’s family.”

IPI highlighted its concerns for the worsening media environment in Yemen in the <media 1276>World Press Freedom Review 2009 – Focus on the Middle East and North Africa. </media>

In a contribution to the Review, IPI Board Member Fredy Gsteiger, diplomatic correspondent for Swiss Radio DRS and former Middle East editor of German weekly Die Zeit, wrote: “For a number of years now the Yemeni government has been increasingly clamping down on freedom of the media. Journalists are intimidated, some are physically threatened and detained, and newspapers are being shut down.”