Media presence keeps Al-Shuaibi’s accusers from attending court [Archives:2007/1060/Front Page]
Nisreen Shadad
SANA'A, June 17 ) After 440 days of waiting to take legal action against Anisah Al-Shuaibi's accusers – Rizq Al-Jawfi, head of the Criminal Investigations Unit, and Saleh Al-Saleh, head of the unit's investigations department – they did not attend yesterday's 9 a.m. court session due to the presence of the media, according to Judge Abdulkarim Al-Shami, head of the criminal cases department.
Al-Shuaibi claims the Criminal Investigation Unit arrested her illegally and that she was raped at the Central Jail in Sana'a. Al-Jawfi has denied Al-Shuaibi's accusation and refused to attend the investigations several times. When he finally did attend, her attorneys weren't present for the same reason – the media.
However, while Al-Shuaibi's attorneys were awaiting Al-Jawfi and his attorney this time, Judge Al-Shami received a telephone call at almost noon from an anonymous individual who, in the court hall and in front of all of the attendees, protested the media's presence at the trial. The judge apparently was responding to someone more powerful than himself, as he kept repeating, “Sir.”
Al-Shami then abruptly announced that the accusers wouldn't appear due to the media presence; consequently, the trial was delayed until next Sunday, May 24.
It's very important that the media attend, since the trial procedures may go in the wrong way, i.e., unfairly, according to Khalid Al-Anisi, executive director of the National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms, also known as HOOD, which is in charge of Al-Shuaibi's case.
“We demand the media's presence because we have no secrets,” he added.
Stating, “This trial is delayed as a result of the accusers' nonattendance,” Judge Al-Shami declared that the law will be applied to all, with each having his or her rights.
As Al-Anisi maintains, “The only thing that's going legally is referring the case to trial. Al-Jawfi remains in his position with the power to control and seize, both of which violate the law. Moreover, these men are free, although they have committed crimes against humanity.”
According to him, discrimination between the powerful and the common is more clear in this particular court. “The accusers are free to attend or not, having conditioned the non-existence of the media at the trial,” Al-Anisi says.
There have been more than one trial before Al-Shuaibi's and procedures go normally, with both sides – prosecution and defendant – attending. However, in this case, Al-Shuaibi's accusers didn't attend, but no penalty was incurred.
According to the law, Al-Anisi points out, the accusers must be arrested because they were informed of the court session, but didn't attend.
Lawyer Abdulsalam Al-Marwani attended the trial because he believes in Al-Shuaibi's case, but he doubts the legality of the trial procedures because since the court is under the government's power, it can't be independent or fair.
Although Judge Al-Shami initially stated that the accusers wouldn't come due to the media presence, he actually delayed the case for another reason. “It was clarified that the accusers weren't informed about the session and that the general prosecution didn't inform them properly,” he said. He added that the personnel left the notification about the session in Al-Jawfi's office without making sure he got it; therefore, the announcement wasn't correct legally.”
——
[archive-e:1060-v:15-y:2007-d:2007-06-18-p:front]
