Newspapers Fined
Cute. The charges on the government newspapers are dropped. The opposition and independents are fined.
YO, SANA’A – A court in Sana’a ordered the Editors-in-Chief of the Al-Asema and Al-Nas newspapers to pay fines last week after they were found guilty in a defamation case.
Al-Asema, which supports the opposition Islah party, were ordered to pay fines of YR 100,000 to the victim, a handicapped person who they falsely reported as saying that he had accused the Fund for the Handicapped of corruption. The newspaper was also ordered to pay a further YR 2,000 towards the General Budget for costs.
Al-Nas, an independent weekly newspaper, was ordered to pay cost of YR 100,000 to the Ministry of Endowment, for what the judge called a “public verbal assault” against an official in the Ministry of Media in 2004.
However, in separate cases, the court dropped a charge of verbal assault against the Al-Mithaq newspaper, supporters of the ruling General People’s Congress (GPC) party.The court also postponed a case against the Al-Wahdwi newspaper, which supports the Popular Unionist Nasserites party, as well as postponing the judicial decision for the Al-Thawri newspaper, the mouthpiece of Yemen Socialist Party.
The court had set last Wednesday as the date for a decision in a case against the Al-Thawri newspaper but it was later postponed.
Four cases, including the case against Al-Thawri as well as three other cases filed by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, were set for next Wednesday. Judge Nabil Jaghman said more time was needed to look through all the cases.Cases against the Bareed Al-Yemen newspaper, which is published by expatriates from America, as well as a case against the Editor-in-Chief of the Akhbar Al Yemen newspaper, which is also published by Yemeni expatriates, were also postponed.
Charges have been dropped from the Editor-in-Chief of the Al-Mithaq newspaper, as well as a separate case against Col. Ali Al Kohlani, the head of the Economic Corporation and the head of a Yemeni drug company. Another case concerning the private Al Rai Alam newspaper was also dropped.
Isn’t is a conflict of interest to be the head of the Economic Corporation while you are running a private company?
