On the night of Friday, September 18th, 2009, the Yemeni Editor of the opposition Socialist Party's website, Al Eshteraki [1], Mohammed al Maqaleh has been kidnapped [2] in the capital Sana'a by security forces.
According to eyewitness reports cited by the International Federation of Journalists [2] :
five gun wielding masked men in a minibus intercepted Mr. al Maqaleh's car on Taiz Street in Sana'a. They bundled him into another vehicle. In dozens of instances, plain clothes intelligence operatives driving vehicles with military plates have snatched journalists off the street who have then “disappeared” and often tortured.
Reports say [3] that Mohammed al Maqaleh, has been abducted after writing about the humanitarian situation and the fighting in the northern province of Sa'ada [4] between the army and Shia rebels.
The International Federation of Journalists [2] (IJF) is calling for the release and safekeeping of the Abducted editor. A Facebook group has also been created in support of Mohammed al Maqaleh [5].
In May 2007, Yemen's Ministry of Telecommunications blocked access [6] to Al Eshteraki [1] website for its coverage of the armed clashes in Sa'ada province.