Journalists and lawyers to work in defending human rights [Archives:2007/1064/Local News]
Nisreen Shadad
SANA'A ) July 1, For setting human rights teams comprised of lawyers and journalists, working in different Yemeni governorates, HOOD, an organization for defending human rights, hold a two-day training course in the mechanisms of defending and supporting human rights. It is considered the first step in a project intended to create organizations for defending human rights in the governorates.
The participators in this training course are about fifty lawyers and journalists from eight governorates, “We need practical executive authorities that have a supreme mission to work on,” said Mohammed Naji Allawo, the coordinator of HOOD organization. “Great works represented in individuals,” he added firmly to assure all that they can make a difference in their districts so as to stand against the oppressing rules even if they are alone.
Khalid al-Anisi, the executive director of HOOD organization, confirmed that “HOOD does not aim to set organizations related to HOOD in Yemeni governorates. We want these teams to set up their own organizations. For this aim, we want them to be qualified enough to start their own projects.”
Shaikh Hamid al-Ahmar, the Islah MP, confirmed the significant role of HOOD organizations and the cases they highlight such as the case of Anisa al-Sua'abi's and of Hamdan Dirsi's. He added that HOOD's follow-up of these two cases by making them exposed to public opinion prevented others to violate the rules.
There are numerous governorates that do not have offices of legal practitioners or offices of lawyers. 13 governorates in Yemen only have offices of lawyers, and 8 of them are intended in this training course.
This training course calmed the fear of some of the attendees, since they were afraid of standing against the powerful violators. Allow and Al-Anisi confirmed that they were not threatened. Al-Anisi advised the attendees to understand the judges, “The lawyer is the judge's teacher. Try to find the best way to present your case in front of him.”
The attendees got the opportunity to present the problems they have faced during their work as well as to avail themselves of each other experiences. Ahmed Harmal, a lwayer from al-Dhalee, explained how people suffer in his governorate and said, “I was put in prison; which was two meters in height and a meter in width. It is called a developing room (this word came from the word 'developing photos'); these rooms are for compelling the detainees to make confessions. Inside this room, we are tortured and abused. Adding to that, there are no spaces or windows for air. Even, we were not allowed to go to the bathroom.”
Najeeb Qahtan, a lwayer in Taiz, agreed with Harmal, “In Taiz as well, there is a similar room in the political security for torturing people to make confessions.”
Most of the problems the lawyers have faced in the governorates are almost the same. The activists of human rights in Hadhramout, however, have some exceptional obstacles, according to Al-Anisi.
The importance of using the media was highlighted during the two-day training course, “Without media, the cases cannot reach people and cannot create awareness,” said Allawo.
Khalid al-Maweri, a lawyer in HOOD organization, presented the human rights in the light of the Yemeni legislation. Ahmed Arman, another lawyer, suggested that “We have to document everything that violated/violates the rules such as illegal arrest and torture.”
Al-Anisi rang the attendees' bill of the difficulty they are going to face. Also, he called upon them to never give up, “The most important thing you have to know is not to despair Changing is not for us, but for the others.”
——
[archive-e:1064-v:15-y:2007-d:2007-07-02-p:ln]
