The Assassination of Journalist Mohammed Aydah: Suffocating the Truth with Explosives

Eradah Organization for Combating Torture and Enforced Disappearance expresses its strongest condemnation and profound indignation at the treacherous terrorist assassination that claimed the life of journalist Mohammed Aydah, a correspondent for Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath channels, following an improvised explosive device (IED) blast that targeted his vehicle in the city of Mukalla, Hadhramaut Governorate.

This crime represents a grave assault on the right to life and the freedom of opinion and expression. It cannot be viewed as an isolated criminal incident, but rather as part of an escalating pattern of targeting journalists and media personnel in Yemen, amid an environment characterized by deteriorating security conditions and persistent impunity.

Eradah Organization asserts that targeting journalists and media workers constitutes a flagrant violation of the provisions of international human rights law, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It also represents a direct infringement of international principles that guarantee the protection of civilians and media professionals while performing their professional duties. Eradah expresses its deep concern over the recurring incidents of attacks on journalists in Yemen without effective investigations or accountability for those responsible.

This perpetuates a culture of impunity and encourages perpetrators to continue their violations, rendering Yemen one of the most dangerous environments for media professionals.Eradah Organization holds cells affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council (STC) militia fully responsible for this crime, based on preliminary information and data available to it. Furthermore, it affirms that the security authorities in Hadhramaut Governorate bear direct responsibility for this serious security breach; they must fulfill their legal duties to pursue the perpetrators, uncover all those involved, and bring them to justice.

Eradah calls for the opening of an independent, transparent, and urgent investigation to uncover the circumstances of the crime, identify all those responsible—including planners, executors, and instigators—and ensure they are brought to a fair trial in accordance with international standards of justice and the rule of law.

It also emphasizes the necessity of taking effective measures to protect journalists and media workers across Yemen and ending the policy of impunity that has contributed to the recurrence of these crimes.Furthermore, Eradah appeals to the United Nations, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, diplomatic missions, international organizations concerned with press freedom, and the International Federation of Journalists, to take clear positions and effective actions to pressure for the protection of journalists in Yemen, ensure the accountability of those responsible for crimes committed against them, and work to document this crime within the international records and mechanisms concerned with monitoring grave human rights and press freedom violations.

The assassination of journalist Mohammed Aydah is a crime that does not target an individual alone, but rather targets press freedom and the society’s right to access the truth. While we renew our condemnation of this heinous crime, we affirm that justice and accountability are the only way to put an end to these violations and ensure they are not repeated.Eradah Organization for Combating Torture and Enforced Disappearance extends its sincere condolences and deepest sympathy to the family of the deceased and his colleagues in the media sector, praying that God may bestow His vast mercy upon him and grant his family and loved ones patience and solace.

Eradah Organization for Combating Torture and Enforced DisappearanceJune 24, 2026