Al-Tagheer Member, Hassan al-Dhalimi Beaten During Arrest
Yemeni security forces beat up Hassan al-Dhalimi during his arrest today. His elderly father was pummeled by security forces as well. Hassan is the sixth founding member of al-Tagheer for Rights and Freedoms to be imprisoned. Al-Tagheer is a vibrant and prominent civil rights organization in Yemen. Al-Tagheer’s website Yemenat was blocked two weeks ago by Yemeni authorities. Yemenat is blocked by the governmental IP in Yemen but remains available outside Yemen.
The six arrested aned imprisoned members of al-Tagheer include northerners and southerners. The organization is comprised of democracy advocates from a variety of parties and organizations. Al-Tagheer is the rights organization headed by MP Ahmed Saif Hashid who was named Yemen Times “Man of the Year 2007″ for his civil rights advocacy. Hashid gave me a ground breaking interview about conditions in Yemeni prisons and subsequently faced loss of his parliamentary immunity. Another noted member of al-Tagheer is Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani, respected journalist on trial in penal court for attempting to overthrow the Yemeni government with an unpublished article. Al-Khaiwani is eligible for the death penalty.
Among the reasons behind internet blocking is that Yemnat and almostashar, another news website run by the same publisher, Ahmed Saif Hashed, issued an item attached with a video (click here) documenting 18 Yemeni youth migrants burnt by Saudi police in a southern Saudia Arabian town, Khamees Mushait, last month. The crime was hushed up by Yemeni and Saudi authorities, but exposed by the Yemenat video interview which was picked up by Human Rights Watch on 14.05.2008, with the title of “Saudi Arabia: Investigate Police for Burning Yemenis”.
Update: Monday, released.
-jane
