DUBAI, June 23 (Reuters) - A leading human rights group on Monday criticised Yemen over the closure of a television station owned by its ousted president but the government said it had been acting in the interests of national security.
Presidential guardsmen loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi raided the Yemen Today station, owned by his predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh, on June 11 in response to what the government called "incitement to disturbances". The guardsmen confiscated equipment and the channel remains off the air.
The raid coincided with rising popular discontent in the impoverished nation of 25 million people, driven partly by power cuts and high prices.
"Media freedom means covering the news, including presenting diverse views, even if the station owner is former president Saleh," said Joe Stork of Human Rights Watch.
"Silencing the media betrays a commitment to human rights that Yemenis have demanded from the new government," said Stork, HRW's deputy regional head for the Middle East and North Africa.
HRW said the raid "appears to have been carried out without legal basis and involved excessive use of force".
A Yemeni government spokesman rejected the criticism.
"This is not an issue of freedom of speech but is deeper. The channel was used to broadcast calls to spread chaos among people, attack official institutions and call for the fall of the government," spokesman Fares Saqqaf told Reuters.
"There's total respect for freedom of expression and journalism in Yemen," he added.
Wealthy Gulf neighbours and the West fear for the stability of Yemen, which shares a long border with the world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia. Washington has stepped up support for the government and military and launched deadly drone strikes on suspected al Qaeda militants there.
Yemen has been plagued by violence since 2011 mass protests forced Saleh to resign.
Government officials suspect Saleh and his supporters of attempting to increase their influence as Yemen struggles with a moribund economy, regional separatist movements and the spread of al Qaeda. (Reporting By Noah Browning; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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