AIC Calls on Saleh to Pardon Journalist al-Khaiwani like al-Qaeda Murderers are Pardoned in Yemen
Even Jaber Elbaneh (sentenced to ten years in a terror attack) was released on bail during his appeal, but Elbaneh made a deal with President Saleh as he said.
Of course, al-Khaiwani refuses to bargin for his freedom. He could be free now if he gave up writing and became a carpeter or farmer instead. But al-Khaiwani believes he has a constitutional and inherent right to report the news. He is, as he said, paying the price for believing the regime’s claims about democracy.
WASHINGTON, June 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American Islamic Congress (AIC) today condemned the six year jail sentence with hard labor against award-winning Yemeni journalist Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani. The verdict was delivered this morning by a Yemeni judge, and al-Khaiwani was promptly taken to prison.
“We call on Yemen’s president to correct this mistake and pardon al-Khaiwani,” said Nasser Weddady, AIC’s Civil Rights Outreach Director. “Otherwise it will appear that the Yemeni regime is tougher on independent journalists than on Al Qaeda terrorists.”
Al-Khaiwani’s case has garnered massive international attention over the past month, with global media coverage, over 1,400 people (including US Congressional leaders) sending letters to Yemeni officials, and Amnesty International short-listing al-Khaiwani for its prestigious “Human Rights Journalism under Threat” award.
Meanwhile, prominent terrorists, including the masterminds of the USS Cole bombing, freely roam Yemen’s capital.
“The regime’s attack on al-Khaiwani is really an attack on Yemen’s free press and independent journalists,” Weddady explained. “The regime is trying to block all coverage of the four-year war in the Sa’ada region, and they are targeting al-Khaiwani because he dared to report on the conflict and its devastating toll on local civilians.”
AIC, which runs a special program to support civil rights in the Middle East, recognizes al-Khaiwani’s persecution as a litmus test for regional reform. The organization hosts an online letter-writing campaign on the case at: http://campaigns.aicongress.org/yemen.
“Over 1,400 people have sent letters as part of our campaign,” Weddady observed. “We will not rest until al-Khaiwani is released and freedom for all Yemeni journalists is secure.”
We will not rest. That is correct.
