Sana’a, 22 March 2023 (GNP): Four Yemeni YouTubers were jailed and their YouTube channels were blocked by a Houthi-run court in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Tuesday after they were accused of inciting the public against the militia.
This action of the Houthis reignited outrage against the Yemeni militia and their practice of prosecuting dissidents.
Charging them with spreading misleading information to endanger national security, Ahmad Elaw was given a sentence of three years in prison, Mustafa Al-Mawmari one and a half years, Ahmed Hajjar one year, and Hamoud Al-Mesbahi was imprisoned for six months, according to Abdul Majeed Sabra, a Yemeni lawyer who represents abductees being held in Houthi prisons.
Their YouTube channels were ordered to be terminated, and the court fined them around $40,000. The court also mandated that Elaw’s bank accounts, cell phones, and cameras being confiscated.
The YouTubers’ attorney, Waddah Qutaish, wrote on his Facebook page that the judge read out the ruling without presenting any justifications or supporting documents, calling the penalty “unjust” and meant to limit freedom of opinion and that he has appealed.
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The Houthis captured the four YouTubers from separate locations in Sanaa and at different times in December and January.
After accusing the Houthis of “robbing the Yemeni people” in a video that had been seen over half a million times, Hajar was the first of the group to be detained in December.
The other three YouTubers were abducted by the Houthis in January after they posted videos justifying Hajar, pleading for his release, then condemning the Houthis once again.
The YouTubers apologized for criticizing the militia and blaming “violence” for the deteriorating economic condition in Sanaa, alluding to the Yemeni government and the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, in a video that was broadcast on Monday by the Houthi security services.
The verdict has sparked marches against the Houthis, who are charged with aiming to silence dissident views.
“Al-Houthi is an unruly gang that utilizes the court as a weapon for repression…and the abolition of individual liberties”, Mohammed Al-Ahmadi, a Yemeni journalist, remarked on Facebook.
