Parliament hardliners demand shutdown of Al-Mustaqilah newspaper [Archives:2008/1128/Local News]
Saddam Al-Ashmouri
For Yemen Times
SANA'A, Feb. 9 ) Parliamentarian Ahmed Hashid, considered a disbeliever by a group of parliamentarians affiliated with Islah Party, is part of a media campaign conducted by extremists supported by the ruling General People Congress (GPC). He expects that the campaign will lead to his elimination.
Hashid, also the founder of Al-Mustaqilah, an independent Yemeni newspaper, was exposed to a verbal attack in which eleven Islah Party- affiliated MPs, including Mohammed Al-Hamzi, Aref Al-Sabri, Haza'a Al-Maswari and Saleh, accused him of being a disbeliever. The parliamentarians filed a lawsuit with the Attorney General last Tuesday, demanding that he revoke Hashid's position and close down his newspaper.
In a telephone interview, Hashid told the Yemen Times, “I was considered a disbeliever due to some articles recently published in my newspaper, one of which reported a meeting with an insane person who said, 'Allah was not fair to me.' Another issue related to one of the ladies who inquired about a fatwa related to prayer and adultery.”
In turn, a group of political and civil ceremonies held in Yemen condemned the disbelief campaign to which Al-Mustaqilah is subjected, describing the campaign as a means of jeopardizing social peace.
Likewise, Al-Tagheer Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms, as well as the Arab Sisters Forum for Human Rights, denounced the attack made against Hashid and his newspaper.
Al-Tagheer issued a statement last Wednesday in which it said that the campaign made against Hashid, who is also a member of the Rights and Freedoms Committee in Parliament, came on the heels of a series of harassments and violations Hashid was exposed to before, while parliamentarians remain a deaf ear.
The statement also described the campaign as a way to instigate dangerous attacks against Hashid and his newspaper, highlighting that the hidden motive to use violence in order to eliminate him is likely to happen as a result of the campaign. The statement claimed that the campaign's mastermind was successful in persuading other MPs and bringing the accusation into the limelight of the Yemeni satellite channel, which aired the request made by the Parliament hardliners.
It also pointed out that the Parliament session aired on the Yemeni satellite channel is clear leverage against Hashid and his newspaper's editorial staff and permanent assets, and demanded that official bodies defend Hashid's life and protect his newspaper's staff and equipment.
The Arab Sisters Forum wondered how the Islah-affiliated parliamentarians were able to use the Islah bloc to frighten Hashid, though he is a member of the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), which considered the harassment and violations made against Hashid as state terror.
The forum also demanded that the JMP and Islah be held accountable for what it deems “religious persuasion” and ensure Hashid's safety and constitutionals rights. It is irrational to use religion to cause a politician's death, the forum's statement highlighted.
Moreover, legislators considered the acceptance of the lawsuit demanding the shutdown of the newspaper unconstitutional, stating, “Parliament is specialized to enact general laws but not laws related to executive power.”
Ameen Hajer, a human rights activist and judge, said, “Hashid has the right to lodge a lawsuit against what he was exposed to”. Hajer also described the campaign as a way for other MPs to forget Hashid's disputes with his colleagues.
The Attorney General referred the lawsuit made by Islah-affiliated MPs to the Technical Office to study it, saying that the office will decide whether the lawsuit is valid or not.
Hashid has been exposed to several violations, beginning in 2004 when his chauffeur was killed. In 2006 and 2007 Hashid was detained in the Political Security and in the Passport Authority respectively.
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