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Al-Shaibani… The Final Shot
Ahmad Al-Shaibani did not know that his first journalistic assignment would also be his last, and that he himself would become the subject of a media story about his assassination. On February 16, 2016, while crossing a street in Taiz with his colleagues, a camera captured the moment he fell, drenched in blood, after being shot by a Houthi sniper positioned on Rabbit Hill. The sniper continued firing to prevent anyone from rescuing him, and although armed men eventually managed to drag him away with great difficulty, it was too late.
No investigation was opened by the prosecution into his killing, despite a forensic report documenting that he was shot by a sniper. His family did not file a formal complaint, aware that the perpetrator was known and that justice was absent.
The Massacre of Journalists
On May 26, 2017, the lenses of six journalists in Taiz were documenting shelling and battles before they themselves became direct targets. A Houthi mortar shell killed three of them—Taqi Al-Din Al-Hudhaifi, Wael Al-Absi, and Saad Al-Nazari—while the others sustained varying injuries.
Aseed Al-Adini, who was close to Wael Al-Absi, initially thought everyone was fine until he realized Wael was unable to stand and was dying. Waleed lost one of his legs, while Salah Al-Din Al-Wahbani suffered severe injuries to his hand, which later led to nerve damage and partial paralysis. Aseed himself was not spared, sustaining shrapnel wounds.
Despite the attack being carried out with a mortar positioned on a hill overlooking the journalists’ location—providing a clear view of the targets—the incident did not prompt any official investigation, nor were any measures taken to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Al-Qadsi… He Documented the Crime and Became Its Victim
On January 22, 2018, while photographer Mohammed Al-Qadsi was documenting a Houthi rocket massacre targeting civilians in Taiz, he did not know that he would meet the same fate hours later. After handing over the memory card containing footage of the destruction to a colleague, he was targeted by another rocket, which turned his body into charred fragments.
The attack was not random. The Houthis shelled the area multiple times that day, even though the military activity had ended in the morning. Testimonies from his colleagues confirmed that the group deliberately targeted journalists to prevent the documentation of massacres, a strategy often used against media workers in Yemen.
Who Will Hold the Killers Accountable?
Three incidents in Taiz, three different patterns of targeting, and one result: journalists killed in cold blood, with no accountability. Sniping, mortar shells, and rockets—all tools used to assassinate the truth and silence witnesses.
In the absence of justice, these stories stand as a testament to the price of journalism in Yemen, where cameras become targets, photographers become victims, and the truth becomes a danger that may cost a journalist their life.
Previously unpublished details about the killing of journalists in Taiz are included in this report:
(We attach the report: “The Last Frames of Fire“)
This report is part of the “For the Truth” project series, implemented by the Free Media Center for Investigative Journalism in partnership with the DT Institute.