Yemen: Houthis shut down 6 radio stations in Sanaa

Yemen’s Houthi militias have stormed six radio stations in the capital Sanaa under their control and shut down their broadcasts, the Journalists Syndicate said, in a move journalists said was motivated by the refusal of Houthi promotional broadcasts or by the broadcasting of songs.

The Iran-backed Houthis have imposed strict social rules since they took control of Sana’a in 2014, at the start of a bloody power struggle with government forces in which hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, according to the UN.

The Journalists Syndicate announced it received a report from the owner of Voice of Yemen radio stating that his station had been illegally shut down last Tuesday by the de facto authority in Sanaa, where security elements stormed the station.

The broadcast was closed under the pretext of obtaining work permits and making payments, the syndicate said.
This action included five other radio stations, but the statement did not specify the dates of their closure.

The Houthis only said that the channels violated the Ministry of Information’s regulations, but journalists in Sanaa told AFP that the rebels wanted these radio stations to broadcast enthusiastic songs inciting fighting, which some radio stations refused to do.
Others were closed for broadcasting songs and music, journalists said.

The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate also condemned arbitrary measures that restrict freedom of opinion and expression, calling for the speedy rebroadcasting of these broadcasts and the cessation of all illegal measures.