Al-Hurra TV “Eye on Democracy” shows up journalist al-Khaiwani issue
Yay! Now I know what everybody said.
The Washington-based Arab al-Hurra TV on Sunday highlighted in its program “Eye on Democracy” the issue of Yemeni journalist Abdul-Karim al-Khaiwani who was sentenced a month ago to six years in jail.
The program hosted Yemeni journalist and columnist in Washington Muneer al-Maweri, the executive director of the American Islamic Congress, Zainab al-Suwaij, the Middle East Program Coordinator in Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Joel Campagna, and the former Yemeni Journalists Syndicate chairman, Abdul-Bari Taher.
Al-Maweri urged to President Saleh to give al-Khaiwani a “humanitarian” pardon, accusing some Yemeni officials “who are encouraging violation of press freedom and abuses against journalists” of hurting the image of Yemen and President Saleh himself.
“I wonder how Yemeni authorities release convicted terrorists while they jail journalist al-Khaiwani and popular singer Fahd al-Qarni…We had hoped that Yemeni authorities would have dealt with al-Khaiwani in the same way it dealt with terrorists who were freed or got lenient sentences”, said al-Maweri.
Al-Maweri denied that judiciary has become independent and said that it receives and carries out directives from the executive authority. “How can a judiciary that let out Jamal al-Badawi and jailed journalist al-Khaiwani and activist al-Qarni be independent?” said al-Maweri.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) senior Middle East Program Coordinator, Joel Campagna, said that alleged terror charges against al-Khaiwani were false. He said al-Khaiwani was convicted for writing about war in Sa’ada, north of Yemen, and criticizing the Yemeni government. The Yemeni government used terror charges against al-Khaiwani just to avoid international blame for jailing a journalist, he said.
Al-Suwaji also defended al-Khaiwani and said terrorism is to commit violence and kill innocent people and al-Khaiwani did neither. Al-Suwaji added that the AIC launched an international drive to press the Yemeni government to free al-Khaiwani.
Al-Khaiwani has critical articles against some of the government’s policies and violations against journalists and press freedom. He was jailed many times but receiving the latest six-year sentence along with other 12 convicted of supporting rebellion in north Yemen. Al-Khaiwani got last June 9 the award of the Amnesty International 2008 for “Journalists Under Threat”.
