Last week, the Iran-backed Houthi group blocked the Defense Line website from browsers inside Yemen.

The management of Defense Line, an independent website specializing in military and security affairs in Yemen and the region, said that the group blocked the website via wired and wireless Internet service inside Yemen.

Considering that this arbitrary Houthi measure is a new expression of the group's brutality and repressive tendency against the press and journalists, and its attempt to silence mouths and prevent citizens from the right to obtain information, which is the path it has continued to follow with various independent media outlets.

Defense Line, which specializes in military and security affairs, stated that the Houthi group had previously blocked the Al-Naqar news network website, and the network’s editorial board considered in a statement that this “behavior is a clear violation of the freedom of the press and the public’s right to access information.”

The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate, in its annual report for the year 2023 AD, talked about the Houthis blocking more than 200 local and foreign news websites from followers in Yemen, as part of a brutal campaign led by the group against the press and journalists, which led to the displacement of hundreds of journalists and media professionals outside the country and outside the group’s areas of control, and the closure of nearly 163 newspapers, magazines and radio stations.

Defense Line explained that, in view of the Houthi leaders involved in the crime of blocking websites and targeting the press, the Security and Intelligence Service, which is in charge of the Houthi leader Abdul Hakim Al-Khaiwani, is present. He is from Saada and is listed on the international sanctions list and the lists of those wanted by the Yemeni judiciary and the military.

Noting that the agency’s agent for information and analysis is Fawaz Hussein Qaid Nashwan Al-Ashwal, a journalist who previously worked for the Houthi-affiliated “Al-Masirah” network and other media outlets loyal to the group, and his media work was a cover for his security and intelligence work for the group.

Defense Line added that before his appointment as undersecretary of the security apparatus, he was responsible for monitoring social media networks, alongside Abdul-Ghani Abdullah Yahya al-Houthi, who was appointed by the group as director of the department of the office of the head of the apparatus.

Defense Line indicated that the person who bears direct responsibility for the Security and Intelligence Service’s violations against the press is the leader Hassan Ali Ahmed al-Mahdi (Saada), who is appointed in charge of the Press and Information Department in the agency with the rank of brigadier general.

Some of the agency's leaders came from the media and had previously worked as journalists, media professionals, and activists. They exploited them as banners to cover up the truth about their intelligence work with the group. Abdullah Qasim was represented by Abdullah Ali Al-Mutamiz, appointed as Director of Administrative Affairs at the agency. And the leader, Muhammad Al-Washli.

Also, the “Jihadi Preventive Security” apparatus is the security and intelligence apparatus of the Houthis, and its responsibility is assumed by the leader, Ahsan Abdullah Ahsan Ali Al-Humran, who is close to the leader of the group.

The Houthis have been exploiting their control over the communications system and internet services in Yemen since their rebellion against the state in September 2014.

Defense Line reported that the group has currently appointed the leader, Muhammad Ahmed Muhammad al-Mahdi, as Minister of Communications and Information Technology, and he is close to Hassan al-Mahdi. He is the executive responsible for blocking websites and media platforms.

Among the Houthi leaders involved in the violations is the leader Hashem Sharaf al-Din, who was appointed by the group as Minister of Information, and before him was Dhaifallah al-Shami (Saada), in addition to the leader Abdul Rahman al-Ahanoumi, appointed head of the group’s media body, and his deputy, Nasraldin Amer.