The right to respond: NODRF denies news on the release of the 104 detainees [Archives:2002/33/Front Page]

Sanaa, Aug 10, (YT)In a press release sent to Yemen Times, the National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms (NODRF) denied the news that came in Yemen Times in issue 31/2001 on the release of 104 detainees and insisted that all detainees are still in captivity. The pro-human rights organization asserted that families of some of the detainees learned that those imprisoned in the PSO jails are still in jail and are currently undergoing mental and physical torture.
The press release said that all the 104 detainees mentioned in YT are still in prison and that sources mentioning otherwise perhaps wanted to distract the readers from the facts on the ground and from the miseries of those in detention.
However, when contacted by the Yemen Times, the sources of the original item insisted on the correctness of their information and reconfirmed the release of the 104 persons, whose names according to him- will be revealed within the coming days.
Yemen Times will be following up this particular case with great persistence to bring the truth to its readers and will publish any names of detainees that may have indeed been released in future issues. The conflicting reports about the release of the 104 persons have resulted in greater insistence by the newspapers staff to research the facts and approach the original sources for a complete list of all detainees claimed to have been released.
YT had already noted in last issue that Basheer Ashedadi, Ahmed al-Baidani and Esam al-Mekhlafi are still in detention and an error led to mentioning otherwise.
Yemen Times would like to confirm that its message is to bring the facts crystal clear and will follow up the issue with perseverance but at the same time would like to extend its gratitude to NODRF for its intervention for the sake of bringing the truth to the readers and its concern of the factuality of information published in our newspaper. YT would also like to offer a helping hand in revealing the truth about the torture cases of those in prison and about the possibility of the release of any of those detained.

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