Armies of Liberation

“We are responsible for securing a better future for our children. I am just a man who sticks to his views and believes in power of his words and nonviolent actions.”

He will keep writing he says to the Yemen Times:

SANA’A, Oct. 5 — Journalist Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani narrated his ordeal while serving a five-month imprisonment term for his writing and undertook to continue his activities in defense of human rights and press freedoms in Yemen. This came during an interview with the Yemen Times following his release from the Sana’a-based Central Prison.

“I was jailed by a false verdict after the regime questioned me over my writings, opinions and human rights and democratic activities for which I was awarded the ‘Special Award for Journalists Under Threat’ by Amnesty International. The court verdict reflects retaliation by the government against any journalists known for their criticism of its policies” Al-Khaiwani said in reply to a question about why he was jailed.

(Read on …)

I love writing that.

SANA’A, NewsYemen

Yemeni imprisoned journalist Abdul-Karim al-Khaiwani left the Central Prison on Thursday after President Saleh gave him amnesty and canceled a six-year sentence issued by a primary court three months ago.

After leaving prison, al-Khaiwani told NY that his release is “a victory for all Yemeni journalist and civil society organizations and human rights advocates”.

Al-Khaiwani declined that security authorities have demanded him to sign any obligation before leaving the prison, but said they have asked him to commit to law and constitution. “I have assured them that I was always committed to law and constitution”, said al-Khaiwani.

Al-Khaiwani expressed his gratitude to his colleague journalists and rights activists.
“I am proud to belong to journalists who can defend democracy”.

Yemeni Journalists Syndicate welcomed the presidential amnesty.

Al-Khaiwani was sentenced to six years in jail for allegedly supporting rebels in Sa’ada, north of Yemen and insulting President Saleh.

Local and international organizations have condemned the imprisonment of al-Khaiwani including the Amnesty International that has awarded him the 2008 award for “Journalists under Threat”.

I’d really like to thank everyone at Jawa who helped and the ladies of the Cotillion who really did a wonderful job highlighting the petition and the case. A remarkable grass roots coalition they call it in the article. (No astroturfing here!)

The people at HAMSA who set up the petition, organized the facebook group and helped me with the media (akkk!) really deserve a lot of credit. Thirty-seven international human rights organizations and a variety of civil society groups in Yemen kept up the pressure since June when al-Khaiwani was sentenced to six years for writing an article that “made the military sad” as my son called it.

Anyway for the second time in my life I have a post called Al-Khaiwani Sprung. (There’s a few people around, including Rusty, who remember when we did this the first time in 2005.)

Earth Times:

BOSTON, Sept. 25 AIC-Yemen-Journalist

Weddady: “A Great Day for Free Expression in the Middle East.”

BOSTON, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American Islamic Congress (AIC) today hailed news that leading Yemeni journalist Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani has been pardoned after more than three months in prison on charges of “insulting the president.”

AIC has campaigned for al-Khaiwani’s release since June, generating over 1,600 letters to Yemeni officials from free speech supporters around the world (http://campaigns.aicongress.org/yemen).

“This is a great day for freedom of expression in the Middle East,” said Nasser Weddady, AIC’s Civil Rights Outreach Director. “A pioneering Arab journalist who stuck to his principles is once again a free man.”

“Freedom is not a gift, and the struggle is for everyone,” al-Khaiwani said in a statement to AIC following his release. He left prison just before 4 pm local time and returned home, reuniting with his family.

(Read on …)

WOW!!!! Man, that’s going to make waves. The IFJ represents over 600,00 journalists in 122 countries worldwide

Yemen refuses granting entry visa to IFJ President

SANA’A, Sep. 14 (Saba)- A senior Yemeni official said on Sunday Yemen’s government had apologized officially to grant an entry visa to President of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Jim Boumelha to visit Yemen.

The IFJ President was planning to hand over Yemeni journalist Abdelkarim al-Khaiwani an award of Amnesty International.

In a press release, Chairman of Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS) Nasr Taha Mustafa said that the IFJ had expressed understanding of the government’s step, canceling the visit which was scheduled to take place next month.

Mustafa confirmed the YJS is monitoring the issue of Abdul Karim al-Khaywani, hoping al-Khaywani to be released soon.

The IFJ has congratulated Yemeni journalist Abdelkarim Al Khaiwani winner of Amnesty International’s Sepcial Award for Human Rights Journalism Under Threat and renewed its call for journalist organisations around the world to support al-Khaiwani as he challenges a six-year jail sentence handed down by a Yemeni court.

Not still in jail? But he’s the highest profile political prisoner… I hope Dear Leader is not holding a personal grudge. It shows though the limited power of the JMP canbe effectively deployed when there is international attention, like on the upcoming parliamentary “elections”.

President asks to set al-Qarni free

SANA’A, Sep. 11 (Saba)- President Ali Abdullah Saleh gave orders on Thursday to set Fahd al-Qarni free after getting promises from him that he will comply with law and national principles.

Tazi court has found al-Qarni is guilty in change of calling for riots and resistance against the state. The court sentenced him one year and half in prison and have to pay half million as fine.

News

Opposition and human rights sources initially said a senior socialist figure, Hassan Baoum, remained behind bars, but opposition politicians later said he was freed on Thursday evening.

The official website of the Yemeni defence ministry said Saleh pardoned 12 people who were released after pledging to uphold the law, including Baoum, a member of the political bureau of the Yemen Socialist Party (YSP).

(Read on …)

The level of media repression may be a determining factor in whether Yemen avoids the threat of state failure. The Yemeni government suffers from entrenched corruption in nearly every office, a legacy of traditional patron/client relationships. Demands for transparency threaten the substantial patrimonial networks associated with access to the government budget.

More than 20% of state funds go to the administrative expenses of the Presidency and Parliament. A quarter of the Yemeni budget is allocated to the military as a line item. Another third of the budget is spent on diesel subsidies. Beyond the misappropriation of state funds, members of the administration also spin off criminal enterprises using advantages gained from their official positions.

In Yemen’s pervasively corrupt environment, investigative reporting is challenging the conditions that undermine efforts at wider economic and political reform. The Supreme National Authority for Combating Corruption credits journalists with uncovering the vast majority of cases in its docket. The NGO, “Journalists Against Corruption”, recently documented financial malfeasance in every governmental ministry.

This investigative journalism is an agent of change on a social level as well. Published reporting on corruption has somewhat reduced the culture of fear. Corruption is now a topic more available for public discussion.

International efforts in working with the Yemeni government on the issue from the top down are augmented by the efforts of the journalists working from the bottom up. As the CPJ noted, “During the last three years, opposition newspapers have smashed political taboos by criticizing rampant government corruption…”

However, red lines exist for journalists wherever there is money and crime. One Yemeni journalist defines the taboo topics as the President, his family and close associates, oil revenues, oil smuggling, military budgets, corporate nepotism, and the naming of corrupt officials or their activities.

Journalists faced hundreds of attacks from 2005-2007. No investigations occurred. Of 301 instances of media repression, 96 were committed by the National Security Organization, including physical assaults, arbitrary imprisonment, property vandalism and theft, kidnapping and death threats. Ninety-five violations were perpetrated by the Ministry of Information including revoking licenses, prohibiting the printing or circulation of newspapers, fines and judicial proceeding. The Interior Ministry committed 54 violations, the PSO 45 and the military 11. Powerful non-state actors brought lawsuits against journalists and sometimes subjected them to assaults. As reports on corruption triggered retaliation, Yemeni journalists turned to technology and international rights groups to amplify their message. (Read on …)

Nice editorial from the Yemen Times

Ramdan Kareem Ya Khaiwani

Now that today is the first day of the holy month of Ramdan, automatically the hearts and behaviors of most Muslims soften. Today as I think of my friends and family and congratulate them on the Holy Month, my heart goes out to my collogue Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani who will be keeping fast (if his health permits) and spending Eid behind bars for no legitimate reason.

Al-Khaiwani is probably the most famous Yemeni journalist of today who has been continuously harassed and taken to prison more than once. He has become a legend and a hero to many Yemeni journalists.

Some of us don’t dare to write about the things he had written, and some don’t agree with his ideas. Some even think he was mad to have put himself out there as a brave and perhaps rash journalist considering he knew the consequences.

But he still did it, and has no regrets, or so he says.

When he was out of prison last year we had a talk and I asked him why he was doing this, making an enemy of the government. He said someone has to do it, someone has to stand up and say no.

I was impressed and sad in the same time. It meant that he would continue on this path regardless.

The sentence he received was not fair at all. It was not even legally valid. He was accused of being a terrorist because he had photos of the war in Sa’ada.

In the security’s eyes, AL-Khaiwani was a terrorist because he had good contacts with people involved in the war. It is similar to Sami Al-Haj Al-Jazeerah correspondent who was jailed in Spain for so many years because of his connections.

Is there freedom of press in Yemen? I used to say there is to an extent. Today now that my friend is still behind bars I am not sure this will still be my answer. I guess now I would say there is no press freedom in Yemen, not while Al-Khaiwani and other journalists like him are behind bars.

I also want to ask where the presidential instructions that no journalists should be imprisoned are? If the president can simply say the war in Sa’ada is over and the war stops, why can’t he say release Al-Khaiwani and get return him home to his family? It is either the president doesn’t have enough power or does not want Al-Khaiwani out and both are not acceptable, at least not to me.

So here goes a prayer and a salute to Al-Khaiwani who is imprisoned without adequate medication or health services and who will most probably not only spend Ramdan and Eid Al-Fitr in prison, but also will not be with us when a 2008 folds and a new year begins.

London Info

Protestors carrying placards highlighting the plight of jailed journalists will be out and about in King Street, Hammersmith.

They will be part of a protest by Hammersmith and Fulham Amnesty International which is setting up a booth on Saturday, August 30 from 10.30am to 4pm.

The campaigners will focus on cases in the Yemen, Iran and Uzbekistan where journalists have been imprisoned.

These include that of Yemeni Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani who was due to visit London on 17th June to receive an Amnesty award for human rights journalism from BBC correspondent Alan Johnston.

He could not attend, having just been sentenced to six years in prison for his articles criticising government policy.

This month, imprisoned Yemeni journalist Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani gave an interview to a Qatari paper from jail. After it was published, prison officials threatened to kill him. They threw a rat in his cell and denied him all communication with his family. Al-Khaiwani who suffers heart disease and rampant diabetes has been denied his necessary medicines for ten days.

In his interview, he discussed his imprisonment and his experience over the last four years with the Yemeni judiciary.

AL-ARAB: First, can we know about the background of your imprisonment?

ABDULKARIM AL-KHAIWANI: The decision for my imprisonment came from the highest levels of government, instructions from above that derailed any real course of justice, from fabricated charges, to non-incriminating evidence such as compact discs and articles that were never published, to an unfounded verdict. All this was topped off with a legal flair – with the last paragraph of my sentence, which essentially insured the immediate effectiveness of my sentence. It was not something the judge himself ordered, but it was there, recorded by the cameras of thirteen different channels and news agencies.

AL-ARAB: Were you expecting a six-year prison sentence?

ABDULKARIM AL-KHAIWANI: My experience with the judiciary made me prepared for jail time, and what’s more, I knew the judiciary was not independent, and the court was an exceptional state security court, known to aim for convictions only… I knew it would be a court that did not look into the case or the defense prepared by the lawyers – no matter how good they were, or their arguments were. I was prepared.

A member of the former presidential committee for ending the war in Sa’da [a separatist region in north Yemen, Ed.], Abdo Al-Jindi, spoke live on Al-Jazeera a few months ago and said he would issue a verdict against me, convicting me.

Al-Jindi also expressed amusement about the terrorist charge that I was being convicted of, and I knew to expect that this was coming from some official side, and not from an independent judiciary with integrity.

Still, I had hoped that the judiciary would work to gain people’s trust by issuing just verdicts, especially in this case that has had such an impact on public opinion. But it seems that no one cares; they are just angered by the truth.

AL-ARAB: You appeared surprised in the media when the sentence was pronounced, as if you did not expect such a sentence? (Read on …)

Yay!!!

Wales on Line

CYNON Valley MP Ann Clwyd has asked the Foreign Office to do what it can to free a Yemeni journalist from jail, writes Mike Prosser.

She told Foreign Office Minister and fellow South Wales Valleys MP Kim Howells “The Yemeni constitution guarantees freedom of expression, but in reality that is not the case.

“Will you take up the case of Yemeni journalist Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani, who was sentenced to six years imprisonment on June 9,” she said.

“Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience, as he has been convicted and sentenced solely because of something he wrote.

Mr Howells, responding to the Cynon Valley MP in the House of Commons, said: “I would be only too glad to take up this case.”

Issued by Article 19:

We, the undersigned organisations promoting and defending freedom of
expression worldwide, join ARTICLE 19 in condemning the deteriorating
state of freedom of expression in Yemen.
Yemen has made some progress in the human rights field over recent years
since its accession to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights in 1987. Notably, civil society organisations, including NGOs
addressing human rights and social issues, have expanded and developed in
the country. Furthermore, the independent and opposition-supporting
newspapers which have been established have adopted a critical stance
towards state authorities, previously unheard of in the region.
Despite these positive developments, Yemen, a country where the
government has taken various measures to support the USA’s so-called “war
on terror”, has carried out hundreds of arrests of individuals suspected of
being members of Al Qaida. In the process, the authorities, mainly through
the security forces, have harassed, interrogated and occasionally even
detained journalists who had covered these arrests. After being warned
against reporting on these “security issues”, journalists first started to selfcensor
themselves out of a fear of being accused of supporting terrorism.
After a decrease in the number of arrests, journalists then began to reassert
their rights to freedom of expression. As a consequence they have faced a
fresh round of harassment, physical assaults, arrests and detention by
security forces which have been supported by the judiciary. This pattern of
repression, which peaked in 2005, continues at an alarming rate. Indeed, the
high number of violations recorded in the first half of 2008 demonstrates the
extent to which the right to freedom of expression has been eroded in
Yemen.

“ARTICLE 19 is alarmed by the serious undermining of freedom of expression in
Yemen,” says Dr. Agnès Callamard, ARTICLE 19 Executive Director. “We reiterate our
condemnation of the current conditions in Yemen that clearly violate Yemen’s
international obligations on freedom of expression”. ARTICLE 19 and the undersigned
organisations remain concerned about the following:
- In March 2008, the Ministry of Information ordered a ban on the newspaper “Al-Sabah”
for allegedly “threatening Yemeni unity and public order”.
- In April 2008, the Minister of Information withdrew the license of “Al-Wasat”, a daily,
for allegedly “threatening national unity”. The decision was later revoked in court.
- On 11 June 2008, the Yemeni State Security Court sentenced Abdelkarim Al-Khaiwani,
editor in chief of “Al-Shoura” to six years in prison. In a case perceived to be politically
motivated, Al-Khaiwani was tried for his coverage of the war in Sa’ada province which
was alleged to be a terrorist offence. In July, the court suddenly amended his verdict by
adding the phrase “expedited implementation”, thus obscuring the possibilities for his
appealing the earlier decision. On July 29, the Criminal Court decided to delay looking
into a request by Al-Khaiwani’s defence team to release him. The court session has been
postponed until November 2008. This decision has been criticised by lawyers in Yemen
as a significant violation of proper procedures.
- On 22 June 2008, Mohamed al-Mokaleh was sentenced by the Yemeni State Security
Court to a six-month suspended term in prison for “attacking and defaming the judicial
system” after bursting into laughter during the trial of Al-Khaiwani. Al-Mokaleh is the
General Secretary of the Socialist Party and a well-known critic of the Yemeni
government. He had already served two months in jail and was released on 22 June.
- On 9 July 2008, comedian-singer Fahd al-Qarni was sentenced to 18 months
imprisonment and a fine of YR 500,000 (approximately US$2,500) for “insulting
Yemen’s President, Ali Abdullah Saleh.” Al-Qarni had been targeted in the past. In July
2006, members of the Criminal Investigations Bureau arrested vendors of his cassette in
an effort to curtail its circulation. The cassette combines traditional folk compositions
with humour and criticism of the government’s policies. In addition, there have been
numerous attacks against journalists and activists outside the courts: earlier this year
YemenPortal.net was blocked by the authorities; Tawakkol Karman, director of the NGO
Women Journalists Without Chains, has received anonymous death threats; and activists
who were peacefully protesting against the above-mentioned court cases have been
harassed and have had their documenting equipment seized by the authorities.
We, the undersigned members of the International Freedom of Expression eXchange
(IFEX), reiterate our deepest concern over the continued undermining of the individual
human right to freedom of expression in Yemen and urge the Yemeni authorities to
reaffirm and live up to Yemen’s international human rights commitments, in particular
Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Yemen is also a
signatory to the Arab Charter on Human Rights which guarantees freedom of expression.
Moreover, the Yemeni government made public commitments to the protection of human
rights through its National Reform Agenda adopted in 2006.
We therefore call on the Yemeni state organs and authorities to take decisive and
immediate measures in accordance with international human rights law to uphold
freedom of expression in Yemen, particularly in relation to the cases outlined above.
The Yemeni government should:
- Refrain from banning or withdrawing licenses from newspapers on the grounds that
they “threaten Yemeni unity and public order”;
The Yemeni legislature should, upon the proposal of the Yemeni government:
- Repeal all legislation that establishes unduly broad conceptions of terrorist offences and
that criminalises the “insult” of politicians, the courts and individual members of the
judiciary.
The judiciary should:
- Allow Al-Khaiwani to appeal his six-year prison sentence and investigate the sudden
extension of Al-Khaiwani’s sentence;
- Overturn the verdict of the Yemeni State Security Court, as well as the amendment to
the verdict which allows “expedited implementation” of the sentence, so that Al-
Khaiwani is released from detention;
- Refuse to convict other individuals, especially journalists, who are exercising their right
to freedom of expression, of terrorist offences and/or for “insulting the judiciary”;
- Allow any appeal launched by Al-Qarni against his conviction for insulting the Yemeni
president and overturn the decision of the earlier court.
Furthermore, state police and members of the Criminal Investigations Bureau should:
- Refrain from harassing, intimidating, arresting, attacking or detaining any individual,
especially members of the press, for exercising their right to freedom of expression;
- Serve to protect individuals, especially journalists, exercising their right to freedom of
expression from violent attacks.
Sincerely,
Africa Free Media Foundation (AFMF), Kenya
Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), Indonesia
Arab Archives Institute (AAI), Jordan
Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Egypt
ARTICLE 19, United Kingdom
Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), Bahrain
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), Egypt
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), Canada
Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI)
Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES), Nepal
Centro de Reportes Informativos sobre Guatemala (CERIGUA), Guatemala
Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), Egypt
Free Media Movement (FMM), Sri Lanka
Freedom House, USA
Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), China
Independent Journalism Center (IJC), Moldova
Institute for Mass Information (IMI), Ukraine
Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS), Azerbaijan
Institute for the Studies on Free Flow of Information (ISAI), Indonesia
International PEN Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC), UK
Journalists Trade Union (JuHI), Azerbaijan
Maharat Foundation, Lebanon
Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), Australia
Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Nigeria
Observatoire pour la liberté de presse, d’édition et de création (OLPEC), Tunisia
Paraguayan Union of Journalists (SPP), Paraguay
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), Canada

This is a disaster! Postponed until November? Even the court says he was sentenced to jail for writing articles and having CD’s of photos of the war dead.

News Yemen:

The Court of Appeals, specialized in terrorism issues, delayed looking into a request by the defense lawyer of journalist Abdul-Karim al-Khaiwani to release him until November 2008.

The court took the decision in an appeal session on Tuesday on the case of 15 people, called Sana’a Second Cell, convicted by a primary court of forming an armed group to attack country’s interests and supporting rebels in Sa’ada, north of Yemen.

The first convict Jafar al-Marhabi was sentenced to death and other 13 were sentenced to different terms in jail. Al-Khaiwani was sentenced to six years term in jail over “writing articles against the president and possessing CDs supporting al-Houthi’s rebellion and threatening the country’s interests”. The court quitted one of the convicts after he died inside the detention unit.

In Tuesday’s session, the Prosecutor demanded that the court refuses appeals of convicts, but defense lawyers demanded the release of their clients and canceling charges against them “as there is no an adequate evidence that the convicts met to form an armed group and committed criminal acts.”

As the vacation of the judges in Yemen starts on the 1st of August, the court adjourned the sessions until November 9, 2008.

Me too!

IFJ Renews Call for Justice for Yemeni Journalist Abdelkarim Al Khaiwani

Source: IFJ

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has congratulated Yemeni journalist Abdelkarim Al Khaiwani winner of Amnesty International’s “Sepcial Award for Human Rights Journalism Under Threat” and renewed its call for journalist organisations around the world to support Al Khaiwani as he challenges a six-year jail sentence handed down by the state security court.

“Abdul Karim is one our members and a very special member too,” said IFJ President Jim Boumelha “He is one of those rare breed of journalists, some of the bravest and the most determined - those who are prepared to sacrifice their personal and professional lives for the public good. Abdul Karim is convinced that standing up to bullies and having to face up torture and imprisonment can make the difference.”

(Read on …)

Yay! Now I know what everybody said.

SANA’A, NewsYemen

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”.

Mareb Press: The Article19 expressed its deeply concerned over the deterioration of freedom of expression in Yemen after a Yemeni court sentenced artist Fahd al-Qarni to 18 months in prison and imposed a fine of YR 500,000 (about US$2,500). In another development, the verdict in the case of Abdul Kareem Al-Khaiwani was amended, thus prohibiting appeal. Security forces have also harassed activists protesting against this decision. “

The sentence against Mr.al-Qarni, the change in the case of Mr Al-Khaiwani and the manhandling of protestors are all indicators of an alarming trend in Yemen of increasing harassment of journalists and public figures in the opposition,” said Dr. Agnès Callamard, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19, in a statement a copy of which was sent to Mareb Press.

Al-Qarni was sentenced at 6:30am on 9 July, two hours before the start of official working hours, to 18 months in prison and a fine of 500,000 Yemeni Riyals to be paid to the General People’s Congress and the Culture Office in Ta’az. According to a local journalist, al-Qarni called on Yemenis to congratulate him for this sentence. Supporters present in the vicinity of the court were also allegedly harassed.

Al-Qarni was arrested in April this year by the security agents as he was heading to Aden to participate in a festival. The arrest is perceived to be politically motivated and in response to Al-Qarni’s position against corruption in Yemen. In July 2006, members of the Criminal Investigations Bureau arrested shopkeepers in an effort to prohibit the circulation of a cassette by the popular artist. The cassette combines traditional folk compositions with humour and criticism of the government’s policies.

Then theres the transmuting sentence of al-Khaiwani that changes every time you blink:

On a different front, the verdict in the case of Mr. Al-Khaiwani was suddenly amended earlier this week to include the phrase “expedited implementation”, which according to local reports prohibits appeal and release pending appeal.

ARTICLE 19 joins the Sisters’ Arab Forum, the Dialogue Forum, the Change Organisation for Human Rights, the Media Women Forum, and the Democratic Social Forum in their appeal to Mr. Esam al-Samawi, the chairman of the High Judiciary Council, for clarification regarding the change in verdict.

(Read on …)

The verdict was altered after it was rendered to include the phrase “expedited implementation”, which prohibits appeal and release pending appeal. Who is disrespecting the judiciary now?

Mareb Press

The security men prevented today, Tuesday, journalists and human rights activists from holding a sit-in in front of the High Judiciary Council in Sana’a.

The police men blockade the streets leading to the ministry of judiciary and prevented the protesters from reaching the ministry.

A number of representatives from the Sisters’ Arab Forum for Human Rights, the Dialogue Forum, the Change Organization for the Human Rights and Liberties, the Media Women Forum and the Democratic Social Forum, participated in the sit-in which was held later before the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate.

The protesters demanded an investigation of the change of the court verdict against the opposition journalist Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani, editor in chief of Al Shoura newspaper who was sentenced to 6 years in prison by the Yemeni State Security Court.
In their letter directed to the chairman of the High Judiciary Council, Esam al-Samawi, they demanded an investigation of the change of the court verdict against al-Khaiwani, saying we feel surprised that a point about the immediate implementation of the verdict was added to the court verdict.

Editor Abdel Karim Al-Khaiwani has been regularly targeted by the authorities and was arrested and charged in 2004, 2006 and 2007. These judicial proceedings are the latest and most serious in a long series of cases brought against the Editor. Editor Al-Khaiwani is being tried as a terror suspect rather than for a publishing crime for writing about the war in Sa’ada province.