Free press ordeals continue [Archives:2006/933/Front Page]
Yasser Al-Mayasi
SANA'A, March 29 ) At its session yesterday, the Capital Southwest Court convicted Al-Nahar newspaper Editor in Chief Shihab Al-Ahdal in a case filed by former Minister of Health Dr. Mohamed Al-Nomi and Al-Thawra Hospital Manager Dr. Mohamed Qasim Al-Ansi. Al-Ahdal was fined YR 450 thousand and given three months' suspension from work. However, the court issued a stay of execution regarding Al-Ahdal's suspension on condition that he publish an apology in three issues of the newspaper.
Journalist Adel Abdulghani also appeared before Press and Publications Prosecution to present his evidence in a case filed against him and his newspaper by the Ministry of Transportation due to a report in issue No. 695 about Aden container port.
The Capital Southeast Court held a session yesterday to try Al-Hurriya independent newspaper, which is accused of republishing caricatures insulting the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh). Editor in Chief Akram Sabrah and journalist Yahya Abid represented the newspaper. The court postponed until the 26th of April.
In its Feb. 18 session, the court allowed defense a copy of the case file. The journalists' defense lawyers confirmed that the newspaper published the caricatures in defense of the prophet. Al-Ray Al-A'am and the Yemen Observer also are standing trial on the same charge of assaulting the prophet by republishing the depictions.
In a similar development against journalism, Adel Ali Omer, Ibb correspondent for Nasserite Party mouthpiece Al-Wahdawi newspaper, broke his hand during an assault by security forces while he was covering the Ibb teachers sit-in. Security forces also seized his camera.
In a statement, Omer confirmed that security men attacked him while he was photographing a large crowd of teachers held by security at one of the city entrances, thereby preventing them from participating in the sit-in involving around 9,000 teachers. He added that he received bruises on several parts of his body.
Al-Wahdawi denounced the assault in which Omer's right hand was broken. The newspaper held the Ministry of Interior accountable for the attack and demanded the attackers be referred to justice.
In a related incident involving the campaign against journalists, ruling party mouthpiece Al-Mithaq newspaper attacked journalists Hafiz Al-Bukari, Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS) general secretary, and independent Al-Wasat weekly newspaper editor Jamal Amir. Al-Mithaq described their trip to the U.S. as a special mission under the guise of a training course, alleging that there are preparations for a group of journalists to travel to the U.S. under cover of a training course by an unknown party. Al-Bukari and Amir are among this group.
Al-Mithaq also accused Al-Bukari of visiting Paris for a secret mission conducted by journalists having suspicious relations with foreign organizations and governments. It concluded by saying, “Press reports confirm that MOSAD adopts methods of recruiting journalists as agents to obtain intelligence reports.”
Al-Bukari, Amir and Hashim Murad, manager of Al-Jazeera's office in Sana'a, will travel to the U.S. within the international visitor program coordinated annually by the U.S. embassy in Sana'a.
In a press statement, Ali Al-Jaradi, head of the YJS information committee, called on the Ministry of Interior, the attorney general and general authorities to bear responsibility for such instigative addresses prompting hostility against journalists. He confirmed that such addresses already have resulted in numerous violations, going so far as assassination attempts. Al-Jaradi presented the case of journalist Haje Al-Jihafi as evidence, adding the cases of closing newspapers as further proof.
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Al-Jaradi condemned Al-Mithaq, which published the accusations against Al-Bukari and Amir on its back page, calling on it not to be a means of stabbing its colleagues in the back. Islah Party (the largest opposition party) also denounced such instigations by ruling party press against journalists. A statement by Islah's culture and information department said it is greatly concerned about Al-Mithaq's publication against Al-Bukari and Amir, maintaining that such an instigation campaign comes within an environment of hostility against journalists. The Islah statement added that it considers the continuing campaign intellectual terrorism oppressing free and independent press and it holds public media accountable for what happens to journalists as a result of such hostility campaigns.
In a related issue, President Saleh also condemned the press this week, alleging that it dared to attack security and armed forces. He asserted that such attacks come from opposition forces that use the press to attack military institutions. In his address to military commanders at the consultancy meeting, the president directed Parliament to take measures to prevent such attacks against security and armed forces institutions, which are a sign of national unity.
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[archive-e:933-v:14-y:2006-d:2006-03-30-p:front]
