Al-Tajamu Weekly suspended for 6 months [Archives:2005/898/Front Page]
SANA'A- Nov. 26- The Capital City's Southwestern Court issued on Saturday a verdict against al-Tajamu weekly, mouthpiece of the Unionist Congregation Party, condemning the paper's chief editor and a columnist who published an article last August under the heading “commemorating anniversary of August 24 events-1968”.
The court considered the article to be a crime and a violation of the press law, alleging that such tended to foment ethnical conflicts and shake national security and stability. The court obliged the pair to pay 50 thousand Yemeni rials each to the Public Treasure of the State and suspended them from work for an entire year. It also shut down the newspaper and banned its distribution for 6 months.
Lawyer Jamal said in a statement to the Yemen Times: “We were informed of the verdict three days after it was issued, we were deliberately uninformed of the court session despite the fact the case has been postponed for 2 months. So, we appeal against the verdict, which is ironic and provoked curiosity especially as 37 years have passed since the August 24 events”.
The article mentioned a bloody battle which broke out between troops and tribesmen in streets and zones of Sana'a, The fighting was between Zaidi leaders backed by the royalists and Sha'afi militants, and resulted in the elimination of the majority of Sha'afi leaders from governmental positions and replacing them.
On the other hand, the Capital City's Western Court referred on Saturday the case filed against al-Thawri paper, mouthpiece of the Yemeni Socialist Party and the writer Mohamed al-Maqalah to the Appeals Court to rule on the appeal presented by the defense team, stating that the court is not the concerned party to look into the case.
Al-Thawri paper and the journalistic writer Mohamed al-Maqaleh were accused of publishing an article demanding President Saleh to abandon part of its power and not to quit presidency, following the President's declaration not take part in the coming presidential elections.
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