Who Will Protect Judges From Interfernce of Influential People? [Archives:2000/34/Local News]

Judge, Abdu Rahman Abu Taleb was released last Monday after a week-long kidnapping by Bani Dhubian tribe East of Sanaa. The Judge was kidnapped in relation to disputes over a piece of land in Sanaa and which he was looking into. According to Judicial Inspection Authority, more than 40 assault incidents judges were prone to, between September 1999 to June 2000. Some of these incidents were: explosion of a hand grenade in the house yard of chairman of Sadah appeal court, blasting the car of Judge Abdul Aleem Abdullah Al-Radm, chairman of a court in Raimah besides many incidents of attacking courts such as the Primary Soud Court in Amran last June. It is worth mentioning that such incidents of violence and threats have lead chairman of appeal court in the capital secretariat, Salem Al-Shaibah, to seek asylum in Britain where he lives now.
Violence as well as money are viewed as the best means to influence the course of any case in Yemen. Absence of security makes judges hesitate to finalize a dispute when influential people are involved. All the above made people lose trust in judiciary.
At the end some questions should be asked: Who allows such interferences? Why some cases are lost? What is the role of security to protect judges? And finally are judges supervised?

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