Al-Houthi’s war on private radio stations.. 3 closures in Ibb after 6 closures in Sana’a
English - Saturday 09 April 2022 الساعة 08:42 pm
Sana'a, NewsYemen, private:
The Media Freedoms Observatory in Yemen condemned the armed forces affiliated with the Houthi group storming three private radio stations in Ibb Governorate, namely: Samara FM Radio, Al-Lun FM Radio, and Yemen Music FM Radio.
In a statement, the observatory indicated that the video clips it obtained confirm that an armed group stormed the radio stations by force of arms, without legal justification, and destroyed and looted the contents of the radio stations before their broadcasts were stopped.
The observatory called on the Houthi group to stop arbitrary practices against private radio stations in its areas of control, despite its commitment to the Houthi policy and not to broadcast anti-Houthi programs or episodes.
The observatory confirmed that since its takeover of Sanaa and a number of other governorates, the Houthi group has been cracking down on all private, partisan and opposition media outlets, until its areas became completely devoid of media outlets opposing it or independent of its orientations.
Last January, the Houthi militia shut down 6 private radio stations in Sanaa, according to a statement issued by the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate.
The union’s statement said: The Houthi militia has shut down the Voice of Yemen Radio, Grand FM, Al Oula, Childhood Community, Al Diwan, and Delta, describing this as arbitrary measures restricting freedom of opinion and expression, calling for the rapid rebroadcasting of these radio stations, and stopping all illegal procedures.
Voice of Yemen Radio, run by journalist Majali al-Samadi, said in a statement: Its total loss from the arbitrary closure of the radio 3 months ago amounted to about 20 million riyals.
Noting that the month of Ramadan is, for her, "a revenue season that is the most important source of employment throughout the year, and it goes as salaries, rents and electricity," describing what she was subjected to as an outrageous injustice by the Minister of Information of the Sana'a government (Houthis) Dhaif Allah Al-Shami.
The radio called for solidarity with it, "so that the oppressor does not celebrate his oppression, so that he does not celebrate the displacement of 12 employees who lost their source of income seventy days ago and during Ramadan as well," according to the statement.
