Dear Sir or Madam,
We would like to inform you that the a leader of the islamist Al-Islah party, head of the department of information in Aden branch, threatened the publishing team of the blog and Newsletter blog “Aden Alghad” because of their coverage of the violence in Almualla-Aden between members and sympathizers of the Alharak Aljanoubi Assilmi on one side and members of the Islamist Isalh party on the other side on February 3rd 2012. This happened when the Islah leader, Khalid Haidan, with the publishing editor, Fathi Bin lazraq, at the same day. The Islamist leader said that his party will prosecute the team of “Aden Alghad” and that his party might tolerate everything but not the blood of his members. When asked if this was a threat, the Islamist leader replied “consider it as you like”.

This is not the first time that Mr. Lazraq and his team are exposed to threat from leaders of the Islah party. On December 02nd 2011, another leader of the Islah party in Aden, Nabeel Assanii, threatened Mr.Lazraq because of republishing an article written by Assanii in which he describes participants of a demonstration organized by Alharak Aljanoubi Assilmi as drunk and drug-addicted.

We consider such activities by leaders of the Islah Party as a radical threat of the press freedom and the civilian life especially in such a peaceful city like Aden. We condemn the aggressive behavior of the leaders of the Islah which considers itself as one of the changing powers in Yemen and is participating in the current government and of its leader is a Nobel Peace Prize winner for 2011. We would like herewith to ask you to solidarise with Mr. Lazraq and the team of “Aden Alghad” against these threats and to support them in their struggle for freedom of expression. We warn from any aggression against the team members of “Aden Alghad” and bear the Islah party the full responsibility for the health and wellbeing of Mr. Lazraq and his team members.

RSF condemns the Takfeer campaign against Yemeni writers

A statement released by Revolution Salvation Front (RSF) on the apostasy campaign against the Yemeni writer, Bushra al-Maqtari

Condemnation Statement

O’ great people..O’ revolutionaries and freedom seekers in all squares of freedom and change
In deliberate abuse to the freedom of belief and approaching elimination and dominance of religion employing, the Yemeni writer Mrs. Bushra al-Maqtari, subjected to Takfeer (apostasy) campaign by known extremist groups.

Recently, these groups issued Fatwa, an Islamic edict by clerics, named as “The Olama’s Fatwa on abuse the Islam and Allah”, in which they named four writers: Bushra al-Maqtari, Fikry Kasim, Muhsin A’aid and Sami Shamsan of being “abused Islam” and described with “apostasy” and “Kufrism”.

The Fatwa elaborated by talking about an article of writer Bushra Maqtari, reported some of severed phrases from the article and interpreted it according their special orientation and political purpose for abuse and incitement to murder against the writer.

The RSF deplores and condemns this unjust Fatwa and that was not in fact Fatwa as it is just exploitation of religion for the liquidation of opponents to insert illegal ambitions, seeking to provoke sedition in society and exclusion of political opponent bigotry and bad interpretation of words away from its meanings.

It rejects the Takfeer at all. The so-called “Olama’s Fatwa on abuse the Islam and Allah” only regarded as a matter of political exploitation of religion to rein the other opinion and intellectually terrify. Such method already used by the same extremist groups against others and authorized the killing of children and women during previous political conflicts especially those infamous fatwa issued against the Yemen southerners during the civil war in 1994, misbelieved as “the war of apostasy and separation”. As well, many writers subjected to such Fatwas, as Dr. Abdul Aziz al-Maqalih and Dr. Hamood al-Awdi.

The RSF warns against going too far in using and monopoly religious and national eligibility by a group extremists and radicalists as Saleh’s regime did to weaken and exclude opposition opponents. Such behavior regarded as a crime must not be silent by the community.

It considered use of the mosques and public spaces to incite against other faiths, beliefs and ideologies as a blatant open call for incitement to murder and crime must be punished.

In this regard, the RSF calls upon the Ministry of Endowment to prevent the use of mosques to religious Takfeer, sedition and hatred in the community.

RSF also calls on political parties, human rights and civil society organizations, social and revolutionary representations, thinkers, writers and all the people to respond to such serious actions that threaten the security, stability and safety of the community.

RSF condemns the sites that published writings of abusive terms such as NabaNews and YemenPress, demanding to be prosecuted in accordance with the law.

Issued by The Peaceful Revolution Salvation Front
Date 03/02/2012

Fatwa is here and Gt’d here in article entitled: “The text of the fatwa, and the image” .. scientists Yemen opinion about insulting the divine: the article described Bushra Maqtari, and demanding closure of sites that published her article, and called for abusers to declare repentance”

Interesting to note that AQAP in Jaar banned some of the same newspapers that the scholars are also railing against.

بيان إدانة واستنكار

في استهداف واضح ومتعمد لحرية التفكير والتعبير، واستمرار لنهج الإقصاء والاستقواء بالدين؛ تتعرض الكاتبة بشرى المقطري لحملة تكفير من قبل جماعات متطرفة تعمد إلى استحضار ثقافة إلغاء العقل، وتجريم الفكر الحر.

وأطلت القوى الظلامية المدججة بفتاوى الإلحاد وتغليب منطق التكفير على رؤى التفكير مجدداً بحملة واسعة النطاق على خلفية مقال كتبته بشرى المقطري الناشطة في أهم ساحة من ساحات الثورة، ساحة الحرية بتعز، لتستعيد موروث التكفير، وتعمل على التحريض ضد الكاتبة بهدف إرهابها، ومنعها من ممارسة حقها في التعبير عن الرأي، قبل أن تتطور تلك الحملة حتى وصلت حدّ التحريض على استهداف حياة المقطري، وقيادة مجاميع متطرفة للمطالبة بإدانتها واستهداف حياتها بحجة الإساءة إلى الدين والذات الإلهية.

إن التكفير هو الداء الرجيم الذي دفعت اليمن ثمنه باهظا من ثلاثينيات القرن الماضي، وقتل بسببه أفضل علماء اليمن ومفكريها بتهمة اختصار القرآن، وشنت بواسطته حرب ضارية على الثورة اليمنية في الشمال والجنوب بتهمة الإلحاد والكفر.

وكان التكفير هو السلاح الذي اغتيل بواسطته أهم مناضلي الثورة اليمنية أيضاً، مثلما كان أحد أهم أسلحة علي عبد الله صالح الذي نشره في طول اليمن وعرضها، حيث تشهد اليمن هذه الأيام سقوط مدن وبلدات بأيدي التنظيمات التكفيرية التي تقاوم الدولة وتقيم إماراتها الخاصة التي تمارس فيها نهجاً وحشياُ في التعامل مع البشر، فتنتهك الحقوق والحريات، وتعدم الأبرياء أو تشوه أجسادهم بزعم إقامة الحدود كما يحدث في جعار وزنجبار ورداع.

إن شن حملة التكفير على الكاتبة بشرى المقطري على إثر مقال كتبته خلال الأسبوع الماضي هو امتداد لثقافة النظام الذي قامت الثورة ضده، والصمت الجبان على هذه الحملة التكفيرية هو معادل لفعل التكفير.

إننا نهيب بكافة القوى الثورية والمنظمات الحقوقية والقوى السياسية ورجال الدين المستنيرين، الوقوف بحزم إزاء فتاوى التكفير واعتبار التكفير محاولة استمرار يائسة لسياسات وأدوات نظام صالح.

وبهذا البيان، على ثوار اليمن وكل من انظم للفعل الثوري اليمني العظيم أن يضعوا نصب اعينهم قوى الثورة المضادة وفي صدارتها رجال الكهنوت وأرباب التكفير.

إن الثورة اليمنية هي تجاوز لرموز النظام ومنظومته السياسية والثقافية والاجتماعية وأدواته وأساليبه؛ ولعلّ من أبرز هذه الأدوات التي ثار الشعب اليمني عليها هي ثقافة التخوين والتكفير.

إننا نحمل النائب العام مسئولية حماية حياة الكاتبة بشرى المقطري، وكذا نطالب وزير الأوقاف تحمل مسئوليته بعدم تحويل الجوامع والمساجد إلى منابر لإهدار حياة الكتاب والمثقفين والنشطاء، كما نشدد على الأحزاب السياسية وفي مقدمتها أحزاب اللقاء المشترك عدم تجاهل حدث بهذه الخطورة والجسامة.

ونهيب بحركة حقوق الإنسان العربية والدولية والمؤسسات الثقافية العربية والدولية التضامن الواسع وإخراس أصوات التكفير.

صادر في صنعاء بتاريخ 22 يناير 2012

الموقعون

- د.سيف العسلي

- أ.نبيل الفقيه

- مراد الغارتي – منظمة تمكين

- أ.أمين محمد عبدالله المقطري

- معين عبد الملك

- باسم الشرجبي – المحامي

- باسم الحاج

- أروى عون

- القاضية هالة سلطان القرشي

- قادري احمد حيدر

- عبد الباري طاهر

- وضاح الجليل

- عبد الحكيم الشرجبي

- أحمد الزكري

- محمد عبدالله نعمان

- معد المجاهد

- القاضي نبيل عبد الحبيب النقيب

- عبد الله عثمان محمد

- أحمد عوض بن مبارك

- القاضي محمد عبد الوهاب

- أمين المقطري

- محمد المخلافي

- سماح ردمان

- محمد الغباري

Statement of condemnation and disapproval

To target a clear and deliberate freedom of thought and expression, and a continuation of the exclusion and bullying approach to religion; writer Bushra Maqtari exposed to atone campaign by extremist groups to deliberately evoke the culture of cancellation of the mind, and the criminalization of free thought.

And overlooked the dark forces heavily fatwas atheism and to maintain the logic of atonement on the visions of thinking again of a widespread campaign against the backdrop of an article written by Bushra Maqtari active in the main square of the squares of the Revolution, Freedom Square in Taiz, to restore the legacy of the atonement, and is working to incitement against the author in order to intimidate, and prevent them from exercising their right to in the expression of opinion, before they develop the campaign and even reached the limit of incitement to target Maqtari life, and the leadership of extremist groups to demand the condemnation and the targeting of her life under the pretext of the abuse of religion and the divine self.

The atonement is the accursed disease which Yemen paid a heavy price from the thirties of the last century, and was killed because of Yemen’s best scientists and thinkers abbreviation for the Koran, and launched a fierce war with which the Yemeni revolution in the north and south, on charges of atheism and blasphemy.

The atonement is the weapon, who was assassinated by which the most important activists of the Yemeni revolution, too, as it was one of the most important weapons of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who published in the length of Yemen and the display, which is experiencing Yemen these days fall of cities and towns in the hands of organizations expiatory resist the state and assess the emirates of exercising the approach brutal in dealing with human beings, thus infringing the rights and freedoms, and execute or maim innocent people claiming their bodies to establish the border as in Jaar, Zanzibar, Radaa.

The campaign of atonement to the writer Bushra Maqtari following article I wrote last week is an extension of the culture of the system that the revolution against him, and cowardly silence on this campaign is the equivalent of satisfaction to do penance.

We call upon all the revolutionary forces and human rights organizations and political forces and the clergy enlightened, to stand firm opinions about the atonement and penance as a desperate attempt to continue the policies and tools for the system.

In this statement, the rebels and all of Yemen joined the revolutionary act of the Yemeni great to always keep in mind the forces of counter-revolution In her lead clergy and employers atonement.

The Yemeni revolution is to exceed the symbols of the regime and its system of political, cultural, social, tools and methods; Perhaps the most prominent of these tools that the Yemeni people revolted by the culture of treason and blasphemy.

We carry the Attorney General the responsibility to protect the life of the writer Bushra Maqtari, as well as ask the Minister of Awqaf bear responsibility not to transform mosques into platforms for wasting the lives of writers and intellectuals, activists, and stress the political parties, particularly the JMP not to ignore the event of such gravity and magnitude.

We call on Arab human rights movement and the international and Arab cultural institutions and the broad international solidarity and silence atonement.

Issued in Sanaa on January 22, 2012

Signatories

- D. Saif Al-Asali

- A. Nabil al-Faqih

- Murad Algarta – Empowerment Organization

- A. Amin Mohamed Abdullah Maqtari

- A particular King Abdullah

- The name Shargabi – lawyer

- On behalf of the Hajj

- Arwa Aoun

- Judge Hala Sultan al-Qurashi

- Ahmad Haidar Qadri

- Abdel Bari Taher

- Waddah Galilee

- Abdul Hakim Shargabi

- Ahmed Alzakari

- Mohammed Abdullah Al Noman

- Contagious Mujahid

- Judge Nabil Abdul Habib Captain

- Abdullah Osman Mohamed

- Ahmed bin Mubarak Awad

- Judge Mohammed Abdel Wahab

- Secretary of Maqtari

- Mohammed Mikhlafi

- Allow Radman

- Mohammed dusty

Yemen Fox: Yemeni Information Minister Ali al-Emrani undertook to reopen the office of al-Jazeera TV Channel in Sana’a and return licenses to the crew of the office to practice the profession.

That came in a meeting gathered Information Minister Ali al-Emrani and Envoy of International Federation of Journalists in the Middle East Muneer Zaarur on Wednesday.

For his part, Secretary-General of Journalist Syndicate Marwan Dammaj reviewed the issue of al-Jazeera TV Channels and what it was subjected to from confiscating, looting, closing and pursuing correspondents and staff and canceling license.

An apt Yemen Times editorial wraps it in a nutshell:

In spite of the fragile and illegitimate parliament we have resurrected, the next phase will be one of ministers and not parliamentarians. This is dangerous, as it means there is no mechanism given to the people by which they can participate in the shaping of their future – outside of political parties, that is.

This also means that the independent youth and any other groups in society have no one to truly represent them and respond to their needs.

The various ministers whose names are bandied about must be able to handle this stage’s demands in practice. Otherwise, Yemen is a lost cause. It may sound scary but the truth is that the fate of Yemen’s development, both today and tomorrow, lies in the hands of the 30 ministers.

Bios of the new cabinet can be found at National Yemen; there’s more info at the Yemen Times.

Its the same faces in new positions without any restructuring of the basic power equation between the governed and government or recognition that the failure of the political party system is what led to the revolution in the first place. The opposition parties were on the sidelines of the revolution, hardly a player until the GCC plan made them one. Meanwhile there’s still a lack of cohesion, strategy, alternative leaders and structures to challenge the perpetuation of the old order and rules of the game which include immunity for Saleh and the continuation of his regime. An internationally approved consensus candidate is scheduled to win the presidential election to be held within two months. Protesters object and protest but do little else.

Storage: The Cabinet breakdown from the Yemen Post:

Ministers nominated by the General People Congress (GPC) and its allies:
Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, Minister of Foreign Affaires;
Yahya al-Shu’aibi, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research;
Hamoud Ubad, Minister of Endowment and Islamic Affaires;
Amat al-Razzaq Hummad, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor;
Omar al-Kurshumi, Minister of Public Works and Roads;
Awadh Saad al-Socatri, Minister of Fisheries Wealth;
Mohammed Nasir Ahmed, Minister of Defense;
Saleh Hasan Sumai, Minister of Electricity;
Hisham Sharaf, Minister of Oil and Minerals;
Nabil Shamsan, Minister of Civil Service and Insurance;
Muammar al-Eryani, Minister of Youth and Sports;
Ahmed Obaid Bin Daghr, Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology;
Farid Ahmed Mujawar, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation;
Mujahid al-Quhali, Minister for Expatriate Affaires;
Rashad Ahmad al-Rassas, Minister of State for Parliament and Shura Council affairs;
Shaif Ezi Saghir, Minister of State and Member of the Cabinet;
Qasim Sallam, Minister of Tourism;

Ministers nominated by the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) and its partners:
Abdul-Qader Qahtan, Interior Minister;
Mohammed al-Sa’adi, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation;
Ali Mohamed al-Yazidi, Minister of Local Administration;
Sakhr Ahmed al-Wajih, Minister of Finance;
Saad al-Din Ali Bin Talib, Minister of Industry and Trade;
Abdul-Hafez Nomu’an, Minister for Technical Education and Vocational Training;
Abdul-Razzaq Yahya al-Ashwal, Minister of Education;
Ahmed Qassim al-Ansi, Minister of Public Health and Population;
Houriah Ahmed Mashhour, Minister of Human Rights;
Mohammed Ahmed al-Mikhlafi, Minister of Legal Affairs;
Abdo Razzaz Saleh Khaled, Minister of Water and Environment;
Abdullah Aubal Mandhouq, Minister of Culture;
Wa’ed Abdullah Bathib, Minister of Transport;
Murshed Ali al-Arashani, Minister of Justice;
Ali al-Amrani, Minister of Information;
Jawharah Hamoud Thabet, Minister of State for Cabinet Affaires;
Hasan Ahmed Sharaf al-Din, Minister of State and Member of the Cabinet.

10/25: He was speaking to the International Press Institute’s Naomi Hunt by Skype, which was something of a feat because Skype has been jammed from Yemen since February.

It is just one of the ways in which the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh is inhibiting media coverage in his country.

He clearly wishes to prevent the world from seeing what’s happening in the clashes between renegade forces and his troops.

Only days after the United Nations called on Saleh to step down in exchange for immunity from prosecution, at least 12 people were reportedly killed and many more wounded after fighting broke out in the capital, Sana’a.

But Almasmari says the international media is still not paying nearly enough attention either to the protestors or to the bravery of reporters and cameramen.

Here are some of his key quotes from Hunt’s Q&A:

“Journalists in Yemen right now are very much in danger… It’s chaotic; you can see that the freedom of press in Yemen has deteriorated so much. There’s no government, no law. And when there’s no law, anyone’s life is at risk…

That’s why journalists have been killed, four of them, since Saleh came back [on 23 September, from Saudi Arabia, where he was treated for injuries sustained during an assassination attempt]…

With the absence of law and any government, it’s easy for anyone just to attack a journalist or just to kill him, making this a lesson to others that anyone who goes against a specific group will not be safe.”

Hunt: The journalists who have been killed over the last month were covering protests. Do you think they were among the protestors, or do you think they were singled out?

“They were singled out for sure… It’s not only being attacked and being killed, it’s the harassment journalists go through. The tons of phone calls, the tons of visits to the office… their kids being at risk of being kidnapped…

It’s more a direct threat to journalists; anyone seen with a camera, anyone seen with a recorder, anyone seen with a pen and paper writing down notes is automatically targeted.”

Hunt: Tawakel Karman, the Yemeni journalist and activist, was one of this year’s Nobel peace prize awardees. Has that helped to focus more attention on the situation in Yemen?

“No. [She] received her prize for her advocacy and peaceful protest and not for her media work… The international media has been ignoring press freedom in Yemen…

There is not one single foreign journalist in Yemen right now; it’s all local work. And our government, in its efforts to stop any connection with the world, [prevents] any network, any TV network, any media outlet, any foreign media journalist from entering the country… and yet they are still not giving the much-needed attention and support that’s needed…

“The [international] media should not forget Yemen. There’s a revolution going on. There are people being killed…

These things should not be ignored. Different revolutions only took less than 40 days; in Yemen it’s now entering its tenth month. The world should not ignore Yemen and should respect that.

That is the only way that the current regime will understand that it will be held accountable for its crimes, but if Yemenis continue to be ignored, that gives the green light to those who are against democracy and press freedom to continue in their mission of killing and attacking innocent civilians, and media houses as well.”

Source: IPI

and just pisses me off all over again.

Update, ripped shamelessly from Howie:

I have no idea what this is about and haven’t be able to reach Karim. The photo is from Naba News, not the most reliable source by far, (being run by the National Security and all) which says al Khaiwani is in Cairo (or is that just google translation?) and it was something to do with his hardy and justified criticism of Ali Mohsen who is just as bad as Saleh, and Karim has the courage to say so. Hopefully his body doesn’t look worse than his face. Update: he’s not too bad this time.

Update: Finally he writes me. Hes fine. He doesn’t know the cause or person behind the attack, and he doesn’t accuse anyone.

* also kidnaps, arrests, slanders, attacks his office, steals his computer, follows his kids, blocks or hacks his website, tries to snap his neck, withholds his medicine and throws rats in his jail cell, and in 2007 a security guard declared himself the head of the PFU while shooting up the building. The dude has his own category.

Clearly for FOX News, news worthiness depends on who is doing the killing; one person killed by al Qaeda vastly outweighs the hundred killed by the Yemeni government in the last week. For a day, CNN ran the headline: Yemeni women burn veils, wow, interesting, at least they mentioned “Yemen,” as the state was simultaneously pounding residences in Taiz with artillery and shelling villages in Arhab with missiles.

And neither one can find for five seconds for this from today, (if its not working try this direct link.)

Fox News: Car Bomb Kills Anti-Terror Chief in South Yemen.

VS.

- Airstrikes on Arhab leave 120 civilians killed, 340 wounded

- Nationwide slaughter since UN SC council resolution 2014

- One million demand regime change

- Yemen Post: Several Million of Yemeni gathered nationwide in the streets of Yemen yesterday, demanding the fall of the regime and Ali Abdullah Saleh’s trial as they say the president is continuing to murder his people.

Protesters had spell out “butcher” across their chest in red ink in denunciation of president Saleh’s many crimes. “He’s using snipers to gun down women and children, Sana’a and Taiz are under shelling attacks everyday…Saleh is killing Yemeni and the World stands silent…We will not,” said Mohamed Hassan Said a defected officer.

In Sana’a, the capital, a funeral march was organized to bury the bodies of the victims of the revolution amongst whom was 4 year-old little Waffa. While carrying the coffins the crowd was chorusing anti-regime slogan, asking the international community to bear witness of the crimes committed against peaceful Yemeni people.

And in spite of the anger and the sorrow which is crushing hearts, Yemen went on chanting: “Peaceful, peaceful”.

As the day advanced in “Change Square”, the sounds of explosions could be heard in the background, coming from Hasaba and other northern districts of the capital, as Sofan, al Dari and al Sahwan have become the new targets of choice of the government forces.

In Hayel Street, protesters reported that a woman, Kafaya al-Hamoodi was killed by a sniper as she was walking pass. Her body was taken to the University’s makeshift hospital for protection and identification as protesters fear further body-abduction from the regime, for they say Saleh is trying to pass their victims for his.

In Taiz, the other main flashpoint of the revolution, tens of thousands of protesters defied the regime and its shelling and killing campaign as they descended upon the streets of the city, screaming their anger.
Despite the presence in Sana’a, of diplomats from the UN and the GCC, the regime attacked n broad day light its citizens, launching its forces against peaceful protesters.

As a result a reported 10 people were wounded, 5 in critical conditions. Dozens more were severely beaten up by thugs loyal to the regime.
In Ibb and Hodeidah, unprecedented numbers were recorded said the marches’ organizers as Imams loyal to the revolution are continuing to call on Yemeni to join “their brothers”.

Yemen Post: Islah profile: As revolutionaries in Yemen are celebrating their victory in eventually obtaining some worldwide attention, and relishing in the fact that western nations have taken up the matter of Saleh’s presidency to the UN Security Council, the main opposition party, al-Islah is slowly but surely high jacking the revolution, rallying to its cause more and more protesters.

Interestingly enough, the very revolutionaries who are standing up against the regime, decrying its oppressive methods and its brutal use of force are turning towards political figures which throughout the years have been accused of similar if not worse crimes.

Al-Islah which only a few years ago was calling for a more traditionalist Yemen is now holding the banner of Democracy and Freedom, hoping that this new “image” will help it topple Saleh’s presidency, putting an end to decades’ long rivalry.

Yemen Post Staff: According to a doctor in “Change Square” whom from the very beginning of the popular uprising has dedicated his time and energy to the revolution by treating the injured, relieving them from them pains and ailments was saddened yesterday after over hearing a conversation between two dissidents officers loyal to defected General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar.

As doctor “Mohamed” was taking a well-earned break after hours of non-stop surgeries, treatments and what not, he unintentionally heard officers hatched the following plan:

One of the officer, seemingly higher in rank than the second man was telling his fellow dissident to disguise himself as a civilian, blend in the anti-regime march and set up an explosive device near president Saleh’s troops as to force the Central Security Forces or the Republican Guards to attack the o get their way

The officer added that if it didn’t work the man had to simply start firing upon the protesters himself, posing as one of Saleh’s thugs.
As it happens it might be defected General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar who is accusing president Saleh of murdering his people, who turned out to be the biggest thug of all.

It is not the first time since the beginning of the revolution that protesters or residents have complained over al-Islah’s repressive methods and propaganda’s technics, saying that “they [al-Islah members] stopped at nothing to get their way.”
However, since criticizing General Mohsen or Sheikh Sadeeq al-Ahmar is now often associated with being anti-revolutionary, many peaceful Yemenis prefer to remain silent, afraid of potential repercussions.

Gulf News: Sana’a: Mohammad Sudam, Reuters correspondent in Yemen, was kidnapped on Saturday night in Sana’a by forces loyal to defected general Ali Mohsin Al Ahmer, Yemen ministry of defence announced on Sunday.

Sudam, who is also working as a translator to the Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh, was arrested at a checkpoint run by Al Ahmer’s forces when he was en route from Sana’a airport to his house.

There has been no comment yet from Al Ahmer’s office. Yemen Journalist’s Syndicate condemned the arrest of Sudam and called for his immediate release.