The Yemeni Union of Journalists on Sunday demanded the release of 10 journalists held by the Houthi militia in Sanaa.

In a statement released on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on Monday, the union called for an end to the “war on journalism.”

The union said among the 10 journalists, four are facing an “unfair death sentence,” including Abdul Khaliq Omran, Akram Al-Walidi, Tawfiq Al-Mansouri, and Harith Hamid. Another journalist had been held by Al-Qaeda affiliated militants in Hadramout since 2015 in “mysterious circumstances.”

The union said it demanded the release of all those kidnapped, especially in light of the COVID-19 outbreak in the war-torn country.

The statement blamed the Houthi militia for its “intransigence and its persistence” in not releasing journalists and exchanging them for prisoners of war.

The union outlined the “tragic” situation of “Yemeni journalists who had lost their jobs or were cut off from their salaries.

“The war has dealt with journalists as their enemies and have launched incitement campaigns against them,” the union said. At least 39 have been murdered and hundreds have been arrested or kidnapped.