Yemeni authorities seized broadcasting equipment from the offices of two pan-Arab broadcasters on Thursday 11 March over accusations of exaggerated news coverage of the protest movement in southern Yemen.

According to the Yemeni national news agency, Saba, an official source in the Ministry of Information claims the satellite broadcasting equipment of Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya satellite channels – two of the most widely-watched TV stations in the Middle East – were not authorised by the ministry.

Yemeni security forces stormed the office of Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital, on Thursday evening.  The stations believe the raids were due to their coverage of the southern secessionist movement, which the Yemeni government is currently trying to suppress.

Murad Hashim, head of Al Jazeera’s Sana’a bureau, said on the channel’s Arabic website that a Yemeni official had telephoned him earlier on Thursday, warning that measures would be taken if the channel covered a meeting of southern opposition leaders.

Nasser al-Sarami, head of media at Al Arabiya, told the station that the channel’s bureau chief had been questioned for two hours before he was released.

“They are concerned about the way we cover what is going on in the south,” al-Sarami said on the channel’s website. “They didn’t give us a reason, but we believe this is the link.”

The source from the Ministry of Information stated that any broadcasters bringing in equipment from overseas should only be able to use the equipment “to convey the real media message, and not to raise chaos and amplify the events in order to harm the public tranquillity of the nation,” which he accused Al Jazeera of doing in its recent broadcasts.

He also accused Al Jazeera of broadcasting misleading archive footage, which he claimed encouraged the separatists, echoing rebukes from the ministry earlier in the month.  Governors from three southern provinces had called on the government to close the station, accusing it of losing its “credibility and neutrality” for its allegedly exaggerated coverage.  The Ministry of Information has also threatened to withdraw permits from Al Jazeera journalists.

Representatives from Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya were not available for comment.

IPI Director David Dadge said: “This is a disgraceful attempt by the Yemeni authorities to curb the efforts of two international news organisations to investigate and report on incidents in Yemen.  The Yemeni government should not remove equipment from journalists just because they do not like what they are broadcasting; it is flagrant censorship.  We urge the Yemeni government to return the confiscated equipment and to allow journalists to do their jobs unhindered.”