Ali Al-Olufi, 60, Chief Editor of Al-Ra’i Al’am newspaper, was announced dead at 10:15 yesterday after he was taken in the early morning hours to Thawrah Hospital’s intensive care unit, where he died after severe heart attack symptoms. Al-Olufi was among the bravest and most influential journalists thanks to his courageous stand during his profession as the editor of Al-Rai Al’am newspaper. In the 1970s, he was influenced by the ideas of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party, but later he left it in order to have his own party, which he failed to found. He was more than once imprisoned for assisting prisoners to escape the rule of the Imam Ahmed in the 1950s and early 1960s. He was considered among the most active revolutionary Yemenis. He was appointed as a member in the premier council and a general manager in the ministry of local administration. He was among the founder members of the current ruling party, People’s General Congress, which he resigned from later in 1989. In 1996, he was honored for being among the individuals who defended the labor sector’s rights, as he was the first to call for a vacation on the occasion of May 1st, Labor Day. His critical articles in the last years have aroused a lot of complaints and debates. However, his calls against corruption and mismanagement were appreciated by the public extensively. We, as Yemen Times, present our condolences to his family and newspaper staff.
