Yemeni officials on Monday condemned arrests and prosecutions by the Iran-backed Houthi militia directed against media, journalists and celebrities.

The “abduction of journalist and YouTuber Ahmed Allaw, storming homes of activist Issa Al-Othari’s relatives, abducting his brothers, and terrorizing his family, confirms again that it is a rogue terrorist gang,” said Yemeni Minister of Information Moammar Al-Eryani.

“These frenzied campaigns confirm the state of hysteria that gripped Houthi leaders after calls for a popular uprising to get rid of this scourge that impoverished citizens in areas under its control, and destroyed everything beautiful in Yemen in implementation of a Tehran agenda,” Al-Eryani said in a series of tweets.

“The international community, the United Nations, UN and US envoys, and human rights organizations and bodies are called upon to condemn these criminal practices, and to put real pressure on the militia leaders to force them to release all those forcibly hidden in their illegal detention centers, including media professionals, journalists, and social media celebrities,” he said.

Al-Eryani added: “We warn against the terrorist Houthi militia affiliated with Iran, blocking the Internet in some areas under the pretext of confronting ‘soft war,’ in conjunction with calls for popular uprising, and arrests and prosecutions it launched against journalists and media workers, and activists.”

“These practices confirm the Houthi militia’s replication of the mullahs’ regime actions, which failed to quell popular protests in Iran, including blocking the Internet, unleashing hands of the Basij and Revolutionary Guards to suppress protesters, and coverup crimes and violations committed against them,” he said.