Prosecution demands Yemen Observer be closed [Archives:2006/931/Front Page]
Yemen Times Staff
SANA'A, March 22 ) Prosecution lawyers yesterday demanded that the English language Yemen Observer be shut down permanently and all the newspaper's property and assets be confiscated, saying the newspaper insulted and mocked Islam and the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) by republishing caricatures of him. They also demanded that Editor-in-Chief Mohammed Al-Asaadi be forever banned from newspaper writing.
“We demand punishment of its Editor-in-Chief, permanent closure of the newspaper and for Mohammed Al-Asaadi to be banned from writing for newspapers forever.
We also demand financial compensation, as we were hurt and harmed to the extent that it has hindered us from performing our daily tasks. The case has deprived us of making profit in our work,” Prosecution lawyers alleged.
Prosecution lawyers also recounted a story in which a woman was killed during the prophet's lifetime after she insulted him, with the prophet then praising her killer. They said they want the same punishment applied for “those who abuse the prophet (pbuh).”
Defense lawyer Khalid Al-Ansi from the National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms (HOOD) reiterated Al-Asaadi's innocence on the charges, in that a crime is defined by the intentions in which it was committed. He said an act can only be considered criminal if it was “done intentionally” and with “full knowledge of the consequences.”
However, Al-Ansi said, by placing a cross over the caricatures, the newspaper clearly condemned them. He said anger was caused by what the Danish newspaper deliberately did: “The mockery happened in Denmark and my client is being punished for it,” adding that Al-Asaadi faces trial not only in the courtroom, but in the mosques as well.
“There was no criminal intent. No one can say the Yemen Observer was mocking the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh). The elements of crime are not there.
“The Observer's intention was the opposite of the Danish newspaper. Anyone who looks at the paper would not have come up with the charges that Prosecution has charged my client with. It's clear that the Editor-in-Chief did not want to commit a crime. His intention was just to defend the prophet (pbuh),” Al-Ansi explained.
Al-Ansi also argued that printing the caricatures must be seen in the context of the accompanying article condemning it, claiming that there was therefore an “absence of a crime.” However, both the Attorney General and the Prosecution team claimed that the charges rest on the depictions alone and that the accompanying articles are therefore not part of the case.
Prosecution argued that there are “different rules” for a 'media crime' than a normal case. In the media, a crime can occur even without criminal intention, they claimed. They also claimed that Al-Asaadi knew what he was doing when he printed the images.
According to an independent Prosecution team statement read aloud in court, “When the Yemen Observer published the pictures, they were aware of the anger caused by them.”
One prosecution lawyer accused Al-Ansi's HOOD organization of receiving “millions of dollars” from abroad to defend journalists, claiming he has phone recordings as proof. In reply, Al-Ansi demanded Prosecution tell the court who is funding them and whether media claims that they've received YR 5million to prosecute Al-Asaadi are correct.
Al-Asaadi's trial, which is taking place in the General Southwest Court in Sana'a, adjourned until April 19. This is the third time the trial has adjourned.
Both Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders have called for criminal charges to be dropped, while Amnesty International sent representatives to the trial.
The New York-based Freedom of the Press Committee of the Overseas Press Club (OPC) sent a letter to President Saleh calling for charges to be dropped, saying the trial violates Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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