More lands plundered in Hodeidah [Archives:2004/790/Local News]

By YT Hodeidah Staff
Once again a Judge named Mohammed Abdullah Al-Akwa'a has been reportedly illegally found taking over more lands belonging to other citizens in Hodeidah province.
According to citizens in the region, this has been a habit of Al-Akwa'a who has been known to plunder lands of others for more than ten years.
_According to witnesses in Hodeidhah, in 1996, he took over lands of citizens in the Salakhanah neighborhood of the city, and he repeated his act in the same year in Ghalil neighborhood.
In both cases, he seized large areas of land with the backing of armed men that belonged to the province's security department.
The verdict of the First-Instant Court ruled that those who demolished houses and terrorized people be tried. The sentence also stated that damage should be compensated for.
A contradiction was noted in the memos of the State's Real Estate and Lands Office. The first said that the land belonged to the government, while the second indicated that it belonged to the Vocational Training Center. The third memo said the land belonged to a governmental compound, while the fourth alleged that it was the property of Al-Akwa'a himself.
Due to excessive corruption and lawlessness, the plundering of lands by influential figures in Hodeidah province had continued, causing the poor and helpless people of Hodeidah to surrender their fate and suffer from more poverty because they were deprived of using their lands for agricultural purposes.
Citizens of the area appealed many times to the authorities and to the international community to bring them justice and have their lands returned. However, so far there is no response.
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