Houthis close media outlets and threaten journalists
[Sana’a] An atmosphere of intimidation is silencing Yemen’s journalists. At least 100 media outlets have closed out of fear that they will be targeted by Houthi fighters who are waging a campaign to mute criticism of the Shi’ite Islamist group that has laid siege to the nation.
Since the Houthis’ capture of Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, in September, radio and television studios have been stormed by its gunmen on a number of occasions. Other journalists have received death threats and are being forced to self-censor or face reprisals. Economic issues and a shortage of automobile fuel have added to the problems faced by Yemeni reporters.
“Some newspapers and news websites have been shut down by the Houthis because they opposed (the group’s narrative)”, Marwan Dammaj, secretary-general of the Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate, said in a telephone interview.
The Yemen Times closed its print edition because of the security situation in general and because of fears that it might be broken into like other media outlets. A message on its website reads, “Dear Readers, Yemen Times will temporarily suspend issuing the printed version of the newspaper until further notice given the exceptional circumstances in Yemen, but will continue issuing the online version.”
Other news websites and newspapers have had to close down because of a variety of reasons – mainly financial ones – which are due to the current crisis in Yemen. Publications such as Al-Thawra, Al-Jumhuriya and the newspaper “October 14” have had money intended for the payment of public sector journalists interdicted because they were seen as being critical of the Houthis.
“The violations committed by the Houthis were against hundreds of journalists,” Mansure Al-Jaradi, a reporter whose salary was suspended, told The Media Line. Al-Jaradi, who works in the state-run Saba news agency (now under Houthi control), said that there was a “planned campaign of targeting and silencing opposing media voices.”
“I write for the Houthis just to make a living; they would stop my salary if I didn’t write for them,” Raouf Al-Nashiri, a pro-Houthi writer, told The Media Line. Al-Nashiri declined to name the media outlets he worked for and added, “All my writings, which are basically dictated to me, are published after a Houthi delegate edits them.”
In addition to those media outlets already forced out of business, threats and violence against individuals has silenced others. In February, reporter Sam Al-Ghubari was kidnapped by gunmen from his house in Dhamar and held for two months. Al-Ghubari’s captors had accused him of fabricating stories against the Houthi cause.
The premises of the Al-Shumoa Foundation, the largest private media outlet in Yemen and home to the daily Akhbar Al-Yomu and the weekly Al-Shumoa, was raided by Houthi fighters, the offices’ contents looted. The building remains occupied. Actions such as this have reinforced local journalists’ fear writing anything remotely critical of the Shi’ite group.
“I do not write for any local publication anymore; what I do is write for foreign websites under aliases,” journalist Salah Salem told The Media Line. “I was kidnapped for three days in Sana’a in early February. I was beaten violently and afterward vowed to the Houthis that I would not write critically about them,” Salem said.
A number of female journalists have faced similar threats of violence. “I write for an anti-Houthi newspaper, but I would rather not name it [because] I have received many death threats,” Amna Al-Wesabi, a freelance writer, told The Media Line. “Currently, I am writing for news agencies and websites anonymously like many female writers who do the same thing,” she said.
Of the four state-run television channels, three have been shut down: only the Yemen TV channel is still on air – said Abdulrahman Al-Bukari, secretary of the state-owned Audio and Visual Media Syndicate. Of the 19 public radio channels that were previously broadcasting, 16 have been silenced, Al-Bukari told The Media Line. The General Corporation for Radio and Television took over the running of the company on September 21 and forced many to quit. Others have not been paid since the Houthi take-over.
One broadcaster for the Yemen TV channel said that he had been suspended and then pursued by gunmen since September due to his opposition to the Houthis. “I am not receiving my salary, and I am being threatened with murder, therefore I am in hiding,” Khalid Al-Aliyan, told The Media Line.
Private radio and television channels have fared no better. The majority of the country’s 15 broadcast channels have closed due to a combination of Houthi threats and the dire financial situation the turbulence in the country has created. A number of radio stations were closed after their offices were raided and occupied. Fearing that they were next, a number of other stations closed their offices rather than face attacks.
“We have taken strict measures against any media outlet that instigates against Ansar Allah (the Supporters of God) or backs the Saudi airstrikes,” Abdulmalik Al-Ujari, of the Houthi Political Office, told The Media Line, when asked to comment on the issues raised in this article. “It is normal that we shut down some newspapers and websites because they have exceeded their media freedom,” Al-Ujari said, adding that he felt certain sections of the media were instigating against the Houthis.
Al-Ujari also confirmed that his organization was pursuing certain individuals but chose not to speak about specific examples, except for that of Sam Al-Ghubari. The journalist had been detained, Al-Ujari admitted, but was alleged to have been held at the request of Yemeni citizens due to criminal and fraudulent behavior. “We believe in freedom of the press, but the press has to be neutral, and those who cross the line will be pursued and stopped from writing by any means,” Al-Ujari said.
The Houthis are primarily made up of fighters from the Zaidi community, an offshoot of Shi’a Islam. Saudi Arabia has alleged that the Houthi rebellion against the government of Yemen is backed by weapons from Iran. Houthi rebels have declared that they wish to secede the north of the country, returning Yemen to the state it was in prior to unification in 1990.