Media watchdogs and a US diplomat have condemned the Iran-backed Houthis for shutting down several community radios in Sanaa, while a rights group has called for an end to the abuse of prisoners in the city.
Reporters Without Borders said on Wednesday that armed Houthis closed down six radio stations in the Yemeni capital for refusing to broadcast songs that glorify the movement.
“@RSF_inter condemns these interferences in media programming,” the international group said on Twitter.
Cathy Westley, charge d’affaires at the US Embassy in Yemen, also expressed concern over the closure of the radio stations and the Houthis’ targeting of journalists.
“I am deeply concerned about the deterioration of the media environment in Yemen. The suspension of some media outlets and the arbitrary detention and harassment of journalists speaks of a disturbing trend,” she said in a statement.
Journalists based in Sanaa said that armed Houthis last week raided and closed Voice of Yemen Radio, Grand FM Radio, Al-Oula Radio, Community Childhood Radio, Al-Diwan Radio and Delta Radio, allegedly for broadcasting without a license and failing to pay their fees.
The owners were later forced to alert the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate, an umbrella organization for hundreds of journalists in the country, after failing to convince the Houthis to allow them to resume broadcasting.
The YJS blasted the actions of the Houthis and urged them to stop their crackdown on journalists in areas under their control.
“The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate condemns these arbitrary measures that restrict freedom of opinion and expression, and demands the rapid re-broadcasting of these radio stations, and the cessation of all illegal measures, holding the Houthi group solely responsible for this abuse,” it said in a statement.
Majili Al-Samadi, head of Voice of Yemen Radio, said on Facebook that he and 10 other journalists were out of work after the Houthis closed down the station, adding that it had been broadcasting “independently” for the past eight years.
“Most people know our professionalism and independence … we are not politicians,” he said.
Since seizing power in late 2014, the Houthis have intensified their attacks on opposition and independent media outlets, forcing dozens of journalists to decamp to government-controlled areas or flee the country.
Many journalists have been tortured and even sentenced to death by the rebels.
Also in Sanaa, the Mothers of Abductees Association, an organization that represents thousands of female relatives of war prisoners in Yemen, on Wednesday sent an urgent plea to rescue dozens of abductees who are being tortured by the Houthis for refusing to attend indoctrination classes.
Jailers at the Security and Intelligence Penitentiary in Shamlan confiscated the prisoners’ belongings, including food and blankets, leaving them with nothing but lightweight clothes to protect themselves against the harsh weather, after they refused to chant the militia’s slogans and attend the propaganda lessons.
“We condemn the violations against our abducted sons held at Security and Intelligence Penitentiary, especially during this cold weather, and the outbreak of fevers and diseases,” the organization said in a statement.
“We also condemn the Houthis armed group’s non-compliance with international and national laws, and hold it completely accountable for the lives and safety of our abducted sons.”