Political Kidnapping: Children
I was just digging around and found one more for the little brothers list.
AI, 2004: Fourteen-year-old Mohammad Sa’id al-Zaidi was allegedly subjected to psychological torture after he was detained by security officers outside his home in Sana’a on 5 August. He was held with adult prisoners in an underground location until his release on 2 September. Mohammad al-Zaidi was reportedly arrested to try and force his brother, Hassan al-Zaidi, to hand himself in to the authorities. Hassan al-Zaidi, a journalist with the Yemen Times newspaper, had written articles criticizing the government.
How sleezy, really the Yemeni people and any people deserve better than this: retribution by targeting the youngest in the family, intimidating others by showing the heartache available as punishment for writing (writing) about the government. A child in an underground prison for a month, because his brother is a journalist? This is a pattern. And it is deplorable.
Update on Ibrahim al-Saiani (14) rounded up during a raid targeting other family members, he is very ill and disabled, has been branded a terrorist, and is held without medical treatment. AI: The health of 14-year-old Ibrahim al-Saiani is reported to have deteriorated in custody: he has begun to lose his memory, his hands tremble and he is unable to speak clearly. He was physically incapacitated when arrested and is just withering away in jail.
