A Shock at Sanaa University and Tens of Prisoners Freed [Archives:2000/31/Reportage]

Mohammed Hatem Al-Qadhi
Managing Editor
Yemen Times
Commenting on the results of the campaign, Mr. Allaw said “Some prisoners – in due to aggressive detention – were released. Others have finished their imprisonment terms and were there due to long procedures.
Launching this campaign is actually a positive step forward to reinforce law and order and to enhance the respect for human rights which should be applicable to all the governorates. In this context, a meeting is to be held between the lawyer, Abdullah Mahyoob Al-Yusifi, in charge of human rights issues, and the prosecutor. The President Ali Abdullah Saleh has also called upon all the Organizations of the Civil Society and Human Rights Organizations to have an active participation in this campaign.”
In regards to private jails, he said “We coordinate with the prosecutor to have members from the prosecution define these jails and ultimately demolish them. A strategic plan is also drawn out to apply strict measures in case of any reported violations.
Another touching issue to be addressed is the numerous cleansing violations. The cleansing law stipulates that a cleansing authority is to be established and that a judge is to be designated so as to settle cleansing issues at the municipality within 24 hours. However, the non-existence of this authority has led to many aggressive detentions. This is also against the law and human rights. The main reason behind this is the premature legal awareness on the part of the Law Enforcing Institutions to perform their duties, ways of dealing with these issues and the slackness of the general prosecution to enforce law and order in the past period.
No doubt prisons in the capital secretariat are far much better if compared to those in other governorates. However, we do call all the authorities in the other governorates to conduct a thorough survey on the conditions of the prisons and private jails and to report them in details to the Authority concerned.
To our dismay we came to find a private jail in Sana’a University. The private jail was a container located in the campus of the Faculty of Legislation and Law. After investigation, it appeared that it was used to detain soldiers, citizens and students who violate rules. There are also some other containers in other universities. This is a flagrant violation of the effective laws and human rights.
Generally speaking, the concept of locking people in jails is still predominating. We do believe that we can not establish the authority unless we use prisons. We do hope that the people of the media will do their best to develop the awareness of our society and to encourage the initiative of the President who made it clear that “we won’t accept and allow any violations of human rights or any aggressive detentions”.”
Regarding the tense relations between the police and the prosecution, he said “The Judiciary Control Body consists of the police and the prosecution which are indivisible. Both are complementary to each other. However, each authority has a specific duty to be carried out. Overlapping of duties lead to the prevalence of chaos and disorder, consequently leading people to suffer. We are planning to form a committee to re-evaluate work right from the Interior Ministry to the prosecution, police, districts’ directors to define the relations between all these institutions so each body performs its duty effectively.”Finally, Mr. Allaw said “The campaign should be associated with a massive media coverage to develop the awareness of people to their rights and how to keep them when violated.”In its report, the NADHRL urged the security of Sana’a University especially Ghalib Al-Kamish, chairman of the Central Body for Political Security, to destroy the containers that are used to lock people in, conduct an administrative investigation and submit those responsible to courts.
Worth mentioning is that the government launched an aggressive campaign at the beginning of this year against private jails after Al-Udain events and then Aness crime, Dhamar, claiming the lives of four people and driving one made and seriously affecting two others.
Yesterday, Mr. Allaw met with the prosecutor and his men and agreed on a plan according to which all private jails will be closed. They also agreed to hold more meetings attended by the Interior Minster, prosecutions’ chairmen and security directors. They also agreed to conduct regular campaigns to check police stations to find out about their conditions every time and then to ensure that there will be no violations. Moreover, they also agreed that police stations should refer cases to the courts and institutions concerned so as to ensure a swift implementation of laws.


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