Parliament demands closure of MP’s paper [Archives:2008/1134/Local News]

Saddam Al-Ashmouri
For YemenTimes
SANA'A, March 2 ) For the first time in Yemeni Parliament's history, 52 Parliament members demanded that Al-Mustaqilla Newspaper, belonging to independent Parliament member (MP) Ahmad Saif Hashid, be shut down, adding that Hashid is no longer eligible for Parliament membership.

The MPs filed a complaint to the Attorney General against their colleague, accusing him of violating national principles and Islamic sharia in the various articles published by his newspaper.

“So far the Attorney General's office did not receive any files from the parliament regarding the accusation” said Jmil Al-Maqtri, official in the Attorney General's office. “however if we receive these files with the evidence that this newspaper has breached Islamic principles, we will send the case to the press and publication prosecution to take its measures,” he added.

Reacting to the charges, Hashid, said that the government was upset by the way he opposes its policies and the issues undertaken by his newspaper, pointing out that the government wants him to remain silent and stop opposing its policies. According to the independent MP, the government demanded that his newspaper cease discussing any human rights issues or criticizing its agencies.

“The government is planning to get rid of me or throw me in jail in order not to be reelected in the coming parliamentary elections scheduled for April 2009. It is the government that directed ill-spirited people to launch a campaign against me, calling me a 'disbeliever' and harming my reputation,” Hashid continued.

The Mustaqilla editor-in-chief added that Salafi jihadists belonging to the Islah Party, who have close relations with the state's security agencies, are responsible for targeting his newspaper over publishing a conversation with an individual, who concluded by saying “My God oppressed me.”

According to the MP, he has not yet appointed any lawyer to defend him in court; however, some civil community organizations selected four defense advocates who voluntarily chose to defend him. “I received nothing except for moral support from some local NGOs and the International Union of Parliamentarians (IUP), which is still investigating the series of attacks by government agents against me,” Hashid went on to say. “The IUP has presented eight recommendations to Yemeni Parliament in this regard and asked it to provide the IUP with any information about the attacks so far launched against me and my newspaper.”

Hashid clarified that he urged the IUP to take quick action for saving his life since he often faces threats and assaults by security agents, complaining that the Jihadist wing in the Islah party instigates other people to kill him. He sent out various letters to some local and international NGOs, demanding that they press the Yemeni government to stop harassing him, adding that his life is at risk.

MP Saleh Al-Sanabani, one of those who signed a document defaming Hashid, denied that he and other MPs called Hashid a 'disbeliever' adding that Hashid is exploiting the issue to make himself out to be a hero in the media community.

“In every issue of his newspaper, Hashid usually shocks us by publishing articles contradicting Islamic values. The majority of MPs demanded that his newspaper cease publishing such articles, but the man exploited the issue to claim that we call him a 'disbeliever'; however, such did not happen,” Al-Sanabani said. “It is Hashid who called us 'disbelievers'. We tried to contact the Attorney General to learn about the case-related procedures, but he responded that he knows nothing about the issue.”

Fuad Dihaba, another MP from the Islah Party, mentioned that some Parliament members intervened to resolve the issue via dialogue, pointing out that up until now, Parliament has not revoked any member's immunity. “Parliament only froze the immunity of Yahya Al-Houthi over the Sa'ada rebellion, according to the government's demand,” Dihaba said.
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