Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council, said that Saudi aerial raids on journalists, photographers and media professionals while performing their primary duties constitute a deliberate act of terrorism and a direct assault on freedom of the press.
Members of an al-Masirah TV team are seen at the site of Saudi airstrikes against residential buildings in Ash Sharyah village of the Bani Hushaysh district, east of Sana’a, Yemen, on November 7, 2026.
A prominent member of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council has strongly condemned the Saudi strikes against members of the al-Masirah TV team in airstrikes near the Yemeni capital Sana’a, describing the attack as proof of Riyadh’s repressive approach toward freedom of the press.
In a statement on Sunday, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi noted that Saudi aerial raids on journalists, photographers and media professionals while performing their primary duties constitute a deliberate act of terrorism, and a direct assault on freedom of the press.
He said the attack sought to prevent the international community from observing the massacre that Saudis were perpetrating, the high casualties inflicted, and the extent of destruction caused. It was also meant to destroy evidence related to atrocities committed against Yemeni people in an attempt to evade accountability.
Houthi stressed that al-Masirah TV correspondents and cameramen professionally and courageously document the plight of the Yemeni nation, and Saudi aggression and siege which have been going on for nearly 12 years.
He added that systematic Saudi attacks on Yemeni media professionals in general, and al-Masirah TV staff in particular, reflect its serious concern over the channel’s weight locally, regionally and internationally.
Houthi recalled previous Saudi attacks on al-Masirah TV teams in Shabwah, Hajjah, Sa’ada, Sana’a and other Yemeni provinces, as well as repeated attempts to silence the channel through cessation of its satellite broadcasts, and removal from internet and social media platforms.
He denounced Saudi attacks on Yemeni journalists and media institutions as war crimes under international humanitarian law and relevant international conventions.
The senior Yemeni official noted that Saudi Arabia is pursuing a repressive approach toward freedom of the press, warning that Saudis attempt to silence Yemeni media outlets through criminal means to propagate their lies and fabrications against Yemen at the behest of the United States and Israel.
Such efforts would fail dismally and would ultimately backfire, he stated.
Houthi called on media outlets, journalists and activists worldwide to draw attention to Saudi atrocities against Yemeni people, expose the kingdom’s terrorist acts, and disclose its plots against Yemenis and Muslim nations.
The latest escalation in Yemen began after Saudi Arabia bombed Sana’a’s international airport in July. The Yemeni Armed Forces responded by attacking Saudi airports, oil facilities, and tankers in the Red Sea, and also enforcing a “blockade for blockade” policy.
In March 2015, Saudi Arabia launched a devastating war on Yemen to restore a Riyadh-friendly government in Sana’a and imposed a blockade on the country, triggering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Hundreds of thousands of people have died, but Saudi Arabia has failed to achieve its stated objectives.
