Jamal Amer

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Jamal Amer
جمال عامر
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants
Disputed
In office
10 August 2024 – 28 August 2025
PresidentMahdi al-Mashat
Prime MinisterAhmed al-Rahawi
Preceded byHisham Sharaf
Personal details
Born(1968-07-23)23 July 1968
Ibb Governorate, North Yemen
Died28 August 2025(2025-08-28) (aged 57)
Sanaa, Yemen
Manner of deathAssassination by airstrike
Political partyNasserist Unionist People's Organisation (1990's)
Houthis (c. 2004–2025)

Jamal Amer (Arabic: جمال عامر, romanized: Jamāl ʻĀmir; 23 July 1968 – 28 August 2025) was a Yemeni journalist, editor and politician who served as the minister of foreign affairs in the Houthi-backed Supreme Political Council from August 2024 until his death in August 2025. Prior to then, he was the editor of the weekly journal Al-Wasat, which he founded in 2004. Al-Wasat frequently publishes reports critical of the government from international human rights organizations.[1]

Background

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Jamal Amer was born in 23 July 1968 in Ibb Governorate. He attended Sanaa University, and graduated as a Bachelor in Education in the 1990's.[2] Prior to 2004, Amer worked as a journalist for the weekly Al-Wahdawi. His reporting resulted in convictions for "harming the public interest", "offending King Fahd of Saudi Arabia", and "damaging relations between Saudi Arabia and Yemen".[1] In 2000, he was banned by a court from working as a journalist for having "insulted Saudi Arabia".[3]

Abduction

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In 2005, Al-Wasat carried a series of articles criticizing government corruption, including an article on government officials who had sent children to allied countries to study despite a prohibition from President Ali Abdallah Saleh forbidding the arrangement. On 25 August, Amer was abducted outside his home in Sana'a by four men in a vehicle with military license plates.[4] They blindfolded him, drove him into the mountains, beat him, threatened to kill him, and ordered him to stop writing about government officials before releasing him.[1][4] Though Amer filed a complaint, authorities reportedly took no action on the case.[5]

Along with burglaries at the offices of the Associated Press and another newspaper, the incident led to the founding of "a coalition of civil society advocacy of rights and freedoms" led by Yemeni journalists to advocate for their protection and rights.[4] Internationally, the incident was condemned by the Austria-based International Press Institute, which called it "a disturbing picture of the varied methods being used to silence critical voices in the Yemeni press",[6] and by the France-based Reporters Without Borders, which called it "a reminder that it is still very difficult to work as an independent journalist in this country".[5] Amnesty International also issued a statement of concern.[7] The following year, the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists awarded Amer its International Press Freedom Award, which recognizes journalists who show courage in defending press freedom despite facing attacks, threats, or imprisonment.[1]

Later work

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Amer continued to edit Al-Wasat. In 2008, the Information Ministry attempted to revoke the paper's license, stating that Al-Wasat "undermined national unity, stirred up religious divisions and damaged relations with neighbouring countries".[8] A court overturned the order, allowing the paper to continue publication.[9]

In 2010, his reporter Anisa Mohammed Ali Othman was sentenced in absentia to a year's imprisonment on a charge of insulting the president after she wrote two articles about political corruption. Amer was fined 10,000 riyals (US$50). He described Othman's prison sentence as "cruel and illegal".[10]

Political career

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After the Houthi takeover in Yemen, Amer had been tasked to manage the Houthi movement's relations with Arab, Muslim and European countries. On 12 August 2024, he was officially appointed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Houthi-led Supreme Political Council.[2] Due to being one of Abdul Malik al-Houthi's closest allies, the Houthis decided to dissolve the Supreme Council for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and International Cooperation (SCMCHA) in November 2024 due to internal corruption and frustration from international donors, and transfer its responsibilities to the Foreign Affairs ministry.[11]

Amid the start of an intensified bombing campaign against the Houthis by the United States in March 2025, Amer conducted an interview with Reuters in which he accused the US of escalating the conflict to a full-blown war with Yemen. Amer stated that the Houthis would not be deterred from continuing attacks on Israel-bound commercial vessels, and denied that their decision-making was influenced by Iran. He asserted that Yemen had the right to defend itself against the US attacks, and voiced appreciation for Saudi Arabia as they had not joined in on the campaign.[12] In April, Amer sent a letter to the presidents of the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council protesting the US strikes as a violation of international law and the UN Charter.[13]

Death

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Main article: 28 August 2025 Israeli attacks on Yemen

On 28 August 2025, Ahmed al-Rahawi and several companions, including Amer,[2] were killed in an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in Sanaa, Yemen.[14] His death was confirmed on 30 August by the Houthis. He and other victims of the strike were given a funeral at the Al-Shaab Mosque in Sanaa on 1 September.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "2006 Awards - Jamal Amer - Yemen". CPJ Awards. Committee to Protect Journalists. 2006. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  2. ^ a b c "أبرز قادة الحوثيين الذين اغتالتهم إسرائيل في هجومها على صنعاء" [The most prominent Houthi leaders assassinated by Israel in its attack on Sana'a]. Al Jazeera Arabic (in Arabic). 1 September 2025. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  3. ^ "Three journalists sentenced for harming Yemeni-Saudi relations". Associated Press. 25 March 2003. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  4. ^ a b c Nabil Sultan (2 September 2005). "Editor abducted; AP, newspaper offices raided". Inter Press Service. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Newspaper editor kidnapped and beaten by gunmen in presidential guard car". Reporters Without Borders. 24 August 2005. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Global press watchdog group condemns harassment of Yemeni journalists". Associated Press. 28 April 2006. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  7. ^ "Yemen: Harassment of journalists must stop" (PDF). Amnesty International. 26 August 2005. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  8. ^ "Ban on weekly newspaper criticised". Reporters Without Borders. 10 April 2008. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  9. ^ "Yemeni Court stops government from revoking newspaper's license". Associated Press. 3 May 2008. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  10. ^ Ahmed Al-Haj (17 January 2010). "Yemen sentences journalist for insulting president". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  11. ^ Al-Muslimi, Farea (27 January 2025). "The Changing Face of the Houthis". New Lines Magazine. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  12. ^ Dahan, Maha El; Hafezi, Parisa; Ghobari, Mohammed; Dahan, Maha El (18 March 2025). "Exclusive: Yemen's Houthis won't 'dial down' under US pressure or Iranian appeals". Reuters. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  13. ^ "FM sends objection letter over US aggression on Yemen". SabaNet - Yemen News Agency. 19 April 2025. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  14. ^ "Houthi prime minister said killed in Israeli strike on Sanaa apartment yesterday". The Times of Israel. 29 August 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  15. ^ "Yemen's Huthis hold funeral for PM killed in Israeli strike". Radio France International. 1 September 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.