Journalists Interrogated [Archives:1998/15/Local News]

Three of Al-Thawri’s (mouthpiece of the Yemen Socialist Party) top journalists were interrogated by the Press and Publications Prosecutor Office because of a number of articles they had written. The chief editor, Abdulbari Taher, and two columnists- Mansoor Hayil and Abdulraheem Mohsin – were questioned by the prosecutor for many hours on several consecutive days at the end of March. “We were accused of ‘spreading sectarianism and for being against the basic national principles,” one of the journalists told Yemen Times.
The case will be later referred to court.
Many observers are worried that the regime is now penalizing journalists for their ideas and for what they write. “This is a serious deterioration in press freedom,” said Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Saqqaf, Chairman of the Human Rights, Liberties and NGOs Committee in the Consultative Council, who has taken an active interest in the case on behalf of the journalists. The Journalists’ Syndicate, which is in a state of dormancy, has yet to announce its position.
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