Dubai: A leading human rights group on Monday criticised Yemen over the closure of a television station owned by its ousted president but the government said it had been acting in the interests of national security.
Presidential guardsmen loyal to President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi raided the Yemen Today station, owned by his predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh, on June 11 in response to what the government called “incitement to disturbances”. The guardsmen confiscated equipment and the channel remains off the air.
The raid coincided with rising popular discontent in the impoverished nation of 25 million people, driven partly by power cuts and high prices.
“Media freedom means covering the news, including presenting diverse views, even if the station owner is former president Saleh,” said Joe Stork of Human Rights Watch.
“Silencing the media betrays a commitment to human rights that Yemenis have demanded from the new government,” said Stork, HRW’s deputy regional head for the Middle East and North Africa.
HRW said the raid “appears to have been carried out without legal basis and involved excessive use of force”.
A Yemeni government spokesperson rejected the criticism.
“This is not an issue of freedom of speech but is deeper. The channel was used to broadcast calls to spread chaos among people, attack official institutions and call for the fall of the government,” spokesperson Fares Saqqaf told Reuters.
“There’s total respect for freedom of expression and journalism in Yemen,” he added.
Gulf neighbours and the West fear for the stability of Yemen, which shares a long border with Saudi Arabia. Washington has stepped up support for Yemen’s government and military and launched drone strikes on suspected Al Qaida militants there.
Yemen has been plagued by violence since 2011 mass protests forced Saleh to resign.
Government officials accuse Saleh and his supporters of attempting to increase their influence as Yemen struggles with a moribund economy, regional separatist movements and the spread of Al Qaida.
