International organizations alarmed at the unprecedented level of violations against the free press:Yemen’s commitment to democracy questioned [Archives:2005/808/Front Page]
Looking the recent surge in press freedom attacks, the international community is questioning Yemen's commitment to democracy.
Some consider it the first time in recent history that such formal concern has been expressed over basic freedoms in Yemen.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), are among the international bodies expressing grave concern.
Another letter to Saleh
In its latest appeal letter to Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the CPJ has noted that the ongoing violations of press freedom in several imprisonments and closure of newspapers.
In the letter entitled 'CPJ alarmed by criminal convictions of journalists”, the international organization urged the president to step in. The organization was especially concerned by the latest sentence against two journalists and the closure of their newspaper.
“On December 29, 2004, Abdulkarim Sabra, editor of the private weekly Al-Hurriya (The Freedom), and Abdulqawi al-Qabati, a reporter with the newspaper, were each sentenced to two years in prison by a criminal court in Sana'a, the capital, for allegedly “insulting” Your Excellency in an article published in the newspaper, Sabra's lawyer, Abdelaziz Al-Samawi, told CPJ.
The court also banned the newspaper from publishing for a year.
The case against the two men stemmed from al-Qabati's October 13, 2004, article that was highly critical of Arab leaders, including Your Excellency. Sabra and al-Qabati have not been jailed as yet, according to local journalists, but could be at any moment.”
The CPJ went further. “These cases call into question Yemen's commitment to a free and open press. Regrettably, criminal convictions continue to be handed down despite Your Excellency's 2004 pledge to work toward the elimination of prison sentences for press offenses.” the CPJ said.
The CPJ reminded of the other successive sentences imposed on journalists, who are all from non-governmental newspapers.
“The convictions of Sabra and al-Qabati came just three days after Yemeni courts handed down suspended prison terms to at least five journalists in cases relating to their published work.
Abdel Rahman Abdullah, editor of the opposition weekly Al-Tagammu (The Rally), was given a six-month suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of publishing false information.
The charge was based on an article about an alleged Libyan government plot to kill Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Prince Abdullah Al-Saud. Nabil Subai.
A reporter with Al-Tagammu, received a four-month suspended sentence when the same court found him guilty of harming relations with Saudi Arabia in an article in which he criticized the Saudi government's treatment of political dissidents and accused it of not being serious about political reform.
Abdelwahid Hawash and Abdel Jabbar Saad)editor and reporter, respectively, for the small circulation pro-Baathist weekly Al-Ihyaa Al-Arabi (The Arab Revival))both received six-month suspended prison sentences for allegedly harming relations between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, according to local journalists.
The charges stemmed from articles published last year that, among other things, criticized Saudi Arabia for its position on the U.S.-led war on Iraq, and its crackdown on militant groups operating in the Kingdom.
In a third case, Hamid Shahra, editor of Al-Nas (The People) weekly, was handed a three-month suspended prison sentence for allegedly defaming the minister of local administration after the newspaper published an article that accused the minister of hiring friends to government posts and using his office for financial gain, according to Jamal al-Jaabi, a lawyer for Shahra.”
Al-Khaiwani still in prison
The series of successive legal cases against journalists had all followed the sentence and consequent imprisonment of Abdul Karim Al-Khaiwani, the Editor-in-Chief of Al-Shoura opposition newspaper.
Al-Khaiwani was sentenced to one year in prison for incitement, insulting the president, publishing false news, and causing tribal and sectarian discrimination. The court also suspended Al-Shoura for six months.
“The charges against al-Khaiwani stemmed from nine opinion pieces published in the July 7 issue of the weekly, which was dedicated to discussing the Yemeni government's fight against rebel cleric Hussein Badreddin al-Hawthi, who led a three-month uprising against authorities in the northern Yemeni region of Saada. Hundreds were reportedly killed during the uprising, and government forces killed al-Hawthi on September 10. He remains in prison.” the CPJ recalled.
What next?
These developments have resulted in tensions, anxiety, and fears among non-governmental newspapers, which are all waiting to hear about the next legal case against one of their journalists.
The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate seems to have been frustrated by the inability to get any response from the authorities to the dozens of press releases, appeals, and letters it has issued.
Hafidh Al-Bukari, the General Secretary of the YJS said that he along with his colleague at the syndicate have been exerting great effort in having their word heard locally and internationally.
He said that the only response they got was from the international community, while locally, the only positive response was from some NGOs and the local press, who have helped bring out the word about the difficult situation the press is encountering in Yemen.
This also comes after a number of Yemeni parliamentarians concerned with human rights and freedom of the press raised this issue and requested explanations from the Minister of Information, Hussein Al-Awadhi.
However, the questioning session held on Dec. 29 resulted in little, as the Minister insisted that “there have been no press freedom violations” and gave justification for the successive trials and sentences by saying that all those verdicts “have been taken in accordance with the law”.
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