Armed men attack “Al-Shar’a” newspaper [Archives:2007/1073/Local News]
SANA'A, JULY 31 ) Gunmen raided, last Monday, al-Shara'a newspaper and manipulated its properties. Nabeel Subai', the managing editor of the newspaper, affirmed the reality of the incident, adding that the storm involved ten armed men riding two military vehicles.
He also pointed out that he was threatened of death. “They [the armed men] damaged two doors inside the newspaper premises. They also scared the guard and the old women who worked as a cleaner” he elaborated.
Fortunately, according to him, there were no journalists or editors inside the building at that time. “The men before their living threatened the chief editor and the editors of death, calling us terrorists” Subee'a described, adding “the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense should take their responsibilities and protect us, especially when we are threatened of death.”
He confirmed that, so far, both Ministries have not provided them with any kind of protection, although the secretary general of the Yemeni Journalist Syndicate ,Marwan Dmaj, has already asked the Interior Minister to protect journalists and held the involved accountable .
The parliamentarian Foad Dhaba denounced this act, saying that such behaviors disclose falsified masks of the authorities.
Al-Shar'a, an independent newspaper, which published its first issue last June, is facing serious accusations, directed by the State Prosecution and related to terrorism issues. The Ministry of Defense accused the newspaper of attempting to shake the State's security; in addition to affecting the soldiers' morale and revealing information about government field operations without prior permission. All these accusations can lead to shutting down the newspaper and can bring death sentences to its journalists, according to the newspaper lawyer Khaled Al-Ansi.
The accusations came as a result of the newspaper's publishing a file on the events taking place in Sa'ada, including field information about government allied tribal gunmen. This file proved controversial because it reflects the State's implication in having hands of tribesmen in Sa'ada war.
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