A/HRC/36/33 armed elements that emerged in the past year, supported by members of the coalition. Although it had limited access to detention facilities in the south, OHCHR verified 46 cases of arbitrary detention in the past year in Hadramaut and Aden. C. Violations of freedom of expression 68. Since the beginning of the conflict, an effective campaign of repression has been waged by both the de facto authorities in Sana’a and the Government of Yemen against journalists, activists and other civil society actors through restrictions on freedom of expression, intimidation, arbitrary and illegal detentions, enforced disappearances and killings. 69. Since 2015, the de facto authorities in Sana’a had blocked 21 news websites, censored 7 television channels and banned 18 newspapers from publication. They also raided or closed the premises of 52 human rights and civil society organizations. ProGovernment forces censored seven television channels and raided seven organizations. Consequently, few avenues remain for free expression and a chilling effect has led to selfcensorship. Many activists have left the country for fear of reprisals. 70. In a disturbing development, as of December 2016, the coalition has prevented the United Nations from providing seats on its flights into the country to journalists; this was extended to international human rights organizations in May 2017. Combined with the ban on commercial flights into Sana’a, those restrictions have served to minimize coverage of the conflict in the international media.48 71. Individual journalists and activists bore the brunt of the repression, with 74 arbitrarily or illegally detained by all parties. As of June 2017, at least 16 journalists remained detained, all by the de facto authorities. In one notable case, nine journalists taken by the de facto authorities in a single raid in Sana’a on 9 June 2015 remained in custody. The journalists had been held incommunicado for months and denied family visits at various stages of detention as they were transferred to different facilities. OHCHR was concerned that the journalists and other detainees faced a serious risk of torture or illtreatment. D. Violations of freedom of religion 72. The de facto authorities in Sana’a targeted the Baha’i community in Yemen, in what appeared to be “a persistent pattern of persecution”, which included raids, arrests and prolonged arbitrary or illegal detentions.49 In the past year, OHCHR documented the mass arrest of 22 Baha’i, including women and children, at a public community event in Sana’a, in August 2016; the arrest of three Baha’i men in Al-Hudaydah and Sana’a, in April 2017; and threatening phone calls to tens of Baha’i in Sana’a from the Prosecutor of the Specialized Criminal Court, pressuring them to recant their faith or face arrest, in April 2017. 73. As of June 2017, five Baha’i remained in detention; one of them had been held for nearly four years, accused of apostasy, which carries the death penalty. 74. Although most Baha’i in Yemen live in areas controlled by the de facto authorities, the persecution of Baha’i is not limited to those authorities. On 17 January 2017, two Baha’i men attempting to leave the country were detained by security officials at Aden international airport; they were removed from the airport and their whereabouts remain unknown, despite OHCHR inquiries. 48 49 14 As of 23 June 2017, there were no signs that the Government of Yemen would allow journalists into the country. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21643&LangID=E.