Al-Wahdawi [Archives:2004/785/Press Review]

19 Oct.2004
Main headlines
– Imaginary budget for the ministry of defence, soldiers complain of want
– Press freedoms center condemns the crime of threatening journalists of Al-Ayyam and 14 October newspapers
– A course on sign language concluded in Taiz
– A course on woman unionist leaderships concluded in Thamar
– Human Rights Minister: Ready to deal with local reports on human rights

Columnist Hamdi Al-Bukari says in an article that since the imprisonment of the journalist Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani on 5 of last September we thought that the authority realizes the danger of what it had done and would release him quickly, out of keenness of not exposing Yemen reputation to more blame related to oppression and police policy.
Days have passed and Khaiwani is still in the Central Prison while his name is repeated by many local, Arab and international organizations as a hero for freedom and prisoner of opinion along with blatant violation of Yemen's obligations of agreements connected to respect of freedom of opinion and expression and human rights. It is not of Yemen's interest that al-Khaiwani stay in prison and the authority has to comprehend that. As for talking a judicial decision for imprisoning him, the authority realizes well the fragility of this justification. Procedures of the trial were annulling form the essence and the case was banned from following its natural course through appeal, which enhances that annulment and proves that the case was [political in the first place.
What is happening is that Yemen is now facing the largest international campaign expressing the truth about a ruling authority does not respect an opinion unlike its own and cares not about repeated calls for the release a prisoner of political opinion.
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[archive-e:785-v:13-y:2004-d:2004-10-28-p:press]