Armies of Liberation

Abdulelah was charged with an assassination plot on Saleh according to RSF, recruiting foreigners for al Qaeda and agitating for attacks with its leadership. The catch all of “armed gang” carries a ten year penalty. Yemen has staunchly defended Anwar al Awlaki as a preacher and said they have no evidence against him, yet they are charging Abdulelah with aiding Awlaki. Some reports indicate that Shaea is also charged with producing the Echo of Epics magazine for AQAP, but accusations launched in the government papers in the build up to any trial are often not the same as the charges brought by the state in court.

In the session, the prosecution accused the two defendants of belonging to an illegal armed gang and supporting the Al-Qaeda network”. According to the indictment, Shaea had attracted foreign mercenaries and urged them to join abovementioned gang to targeting strategic interests and foreign embassies in Yemen .” (Read on …)

The security forces attacked the weekly Tuesday demonstration in “Freedom Square” held to highlight the plight of the al Jasheen, repression of journalists and the withholding of newspaper licenses to independents. Tawakkol Karaman, head of Woman Journalists Without Chains, was arrested and held for hours. Many others were injured and hospitalized from among both the activists and the displaced al Jasheen villagers. It appears 35 were arrested as well.

Statement of condemnation to not detain the long head of the Organization of Women Journalists Without Chains, and the attack on Atidip Director of the Organization and human rights activists and itinerant Aldjaashen a sit-in Tuesday

Condemned the Organization of Women Journalists Without Chains of what has happened president of the organization entrusted Salam Kerman, as well as the Executive Director of the Organization Bushra Ababi and dozens of activists and human rights defenders and itinerant Aldjaashen of a barbaric attack by the security of the capital during their participation in the sit-in and march in solidarity with itinerant Aldjaashen on Tuesday, 15/10 / 2010, where long-abuse protesters beating and firing live bullets were assaulted, trust in Kerman, president of the organization and then arrested in the Department of fodder for 3 hours, and the injury of the Executive Director of the Organization of press and human rights activist Bushra Ababi during photographed picketing a shot for rubber led to the burning of her clothes, her burns in the back and her husband, were transferred down to the Republican Hospital, as well as Matardt has dozens of displaced women and their children and their husbands severely beaten with rifle butts and threatened with death and guide weapons to Rwshn and other means of intimidation, with damage to five of the women Aldjaashen been moved two of them to hospital, a Republican, as well as the arrest of 35 someone from the itinerant Aldjaashen still 13 of them held in five police stations in Sana’a, and still detained until the moment of writing this statement, namely: (Read on …)

The regime is getting lazy lately and running over journalists instead of going through the motions of a bogus trial.

Sahwa Net- The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate has denounced repeated violations and abused practiced against journalist Khalid Dhala’. In a statement, it said that these violations increased and became targeting openly his life as he was subjected to a car crash on 13 July 2010. The statement demanded security forces to protect Dala’a, immediately arrest the criminals and bring them to justice

Press release

Jurist information center condemns abuses against journalists, the latest of which was a journalist Khaled Mohsen Dlaq from the threat of his life and he was run over a car driven by unknown persons in the center of the capital Sanaa, which led to suffering a serious injury in parts of his body and was evacuated to hospital in time, which condemns the information center have been exposed jurist journalist Khaled Dlaq it at the same time demanding the Interior Ministry quickly prosecution of offenders and finding them and bring them to justice to receive their just punishment

Issued by the Information Centre jurist Sana
7-8-20010

Such total garbage, but its a good example of how the Yemeni government spins every event for the western audience.

Free Media : VIENNA, 7 Jan. 2010: The arrest on 6 January of the editor and publisher of Yemen’s Al-Ayyam newspaper, Hisham Bashraheel, has reinforced concerns that Yemen’s high-profile clampdown on militants is being used as a pretext to further suppress media freedom. (Read on …)

Just a quick clarification to the prior post, although al Maqaleh edits al Eshteraki and is an official in the YSP, he’s not a southerner per se, but is from the Ala’aood area near Wadi Bana in Ibb. Thanks everybody.

Committee to Protect Journalists: In Yemen, critical journalist disappears
New York, September 25, 2009—The Committee to Protect journalists calls on Yemeni authorities to clarify the circumstances of the disappearance and current whereabouts of Muhammad al-Maqaleh, editor of Aleshteraki, a Web site affiliated with the opposition Socialist Party. Al-Maqaleh was detained by unidentified men on September 18 in Sana’a, according to local news reports.

A local journalist, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, told CPJ that although many independent and opposition Web sites have covered the ongoing military offensive in the northwestern town of Saada, Aleshteraki’s coverage has been the most comprehensive. He also said that the site has been blocked frequently inside Yemen. Al-Maqaleh is vocal critic of the government’s attack on the region, according to local press reports.

Two Yemeni rights groups, human rights group Hud and journalists’ group Women Journalists Without Chains, covered the disappearance on their Web sites. Both directly accuse security forces of being behind the detention. Multiple local news sites also report possible government involvement, citing a history of similar incidents.

“The government must disclose all the information it has about the disappearance of Muhammad al-Maqaleh,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem. “Al-Maqaleh was writing critically about the government’s handling of the conflict in Saada.”

Al-Maqaleh’s disappearance came after Aleshteraki posted, on September 15, graphic pictures of civilian victims of airstrikes in the Saada region where the military has been battling rebels, local journalists told CPJ. Since 2004, regular battles have erupted several times between the Shiite al-Huthi rebels and government troops in the northwestern region of Yemen. The rebels accuse the government of neglecting the region and demand more autonomy. The latest round of fighting broke out in mid-August, according to media reports. Dozens of civilians have died and thousands have been displaced, according to humanitarian agencies.

In 2007, plainclothes men in an unmarked vehicle abducted, threatened, and severely beat journalist and editor Abdel Karim al-Khaiwani. At the time, other journalists told CPJ that they believed government agents were behind his detention. CPJ has documented similar incidents in 2005 and 2006.

On Thursday, journalists in Sana’a staged a third sit-in protest demanding authorities disclose the fate of al-Maqaleh, according to local press reports. The sit-ins were organized by the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate. In April 2008, al-Maqaleh was imprisoned for two months for “mocking and insulting the judiciary” after he burst into laughter during trial of renowned Yemeni journalist Abdel Karim al-Khaiwani.

In recent months, media outlets and journalists in Yemen have faced unprecedented attacks by the government after clashes broke out between the military and armed protesters in southern parts of the country in late April. Dissatisfied southerners accuse the government of marginalizing the region. Authorities also instituted extensive censorship and arrested journalists to curb press coverage and silence opposition voices.

The Director of South Youth Forums recieved death threats here in the US.

Raed Qasim Ismail is a political activist and director of the forum and website of the South Youth of Aden, Shababshaib, editor of the Algnoub Alhur Magazine.

Mr. Ismail was threatened during telephone calls, emails and messages received from anonymous persons who ordered him to stop his journalistic activities and close down the South Youth website. The callers said “they” knew where he lived in the US, were monitoring his movements and his continued activity would result in harm to himself and his family both here and in Yemen.

Mr. Ismail said said he is accustomed to such threats, adding that there were attempts by unidentified bodies to hack the website several times.

Despite the death threats by email and telephone, Mr. Isamil confirmed that he will continue to exercise his right of free speech, adding that he is not afraid of such threats, and nor will he be deterred from continuing his career with his (Southern Yemeni) people until their independence.

Mr. Ismail is concerned by the threats that were received by his family in Yemen, noting that the Sana’a regime and his men bear the full responsibility for any harm to him or any one of his family members.

The existance of Yemeni intelligence operatives here in the US is well known, and numerous Yemeni-Americans in the US have been threatened by Yemeni operatives for engaging in their legally protected rights of assembly and speech in the US.

Acting as an undeclared agent of a foreign state is illegal.

Gee wouldn’t a normal press law, following up on the new legislation about the minimum marriage age, go a long way to appease the donors???? There’s seems to be good support in the parliament for the first draft. The second draft criminalizes a wide variety of topics important to an informed electorate and includes a six year jail term as the penalty for writing about anything important.

YT

None of this is reflected in the draft, which stipulates that the release of information should not damage national security, social peace, national unity, Yemen’s interests and its foreign relations, the national economy, public and private economic interests, or trade and financial interests. Any person seeking or publishing information prohibited by this draft shall be sentenced to six years in jail according to article 71. Such open-ended and loose terms make it difficult to decide what is prohibited and what is allowed, for anything at any time can be simply decided as being against the national interest of the country. Again, the time limit for accessing requested information has been put at ten days, but the draft stipulates that the limit can be extended to 60 days. That is a lot of time.

The National

SANA’A // A draft law on access to information that the Yemeni parliament is scheduled to debate this week has already drawn criticism from journalists and democracy activists who describe it as restricting press freedom.

“This draft law proposed by the government is authoritarian and aims to exercise more restrictions, as it prohibits the search for and publishing of information under several pretexts such as the protection of national security, national unity and the like,” said Marwan Damaj, the secretary general of Yemen Journalists Syndicate, a non-governmental organisation. (Read on …)

A press Release on the Leading Journalist and Writer, Hussein al-Lasoss’s Attack and Detention

Issued by: HOOD and WJWC

This is a press release issued by both HOOD and Women Journalists without Chains Organization (WJWC), regarding the attack exposed to the journalist and writer Hussein al-Lasoss by al-Baida province mayor’s bodyguards. Mr. Hussien was barbarically attacked and arbitrarily incarcerated with no legal justification.

Press Release

HOOD and WJWC express their deep concerns about the current miserable health status of Mr. Hussein al-Lasoss, as he is reported to have a serious injury in his head and sustain several contusions on his body as well. Mr. Hussien was barbarically attacked and arbitrarily incarcerated with no legal justification.

Al-Lasoss was kidnapped and beaten by the mayor’s bodyguards of al-Baida province. He was dragged last Thursday to the mayor’s house and then transferred to the Security Administration of al-Baida province’s prison and apprehended there to date. Mr. Hussein al-Lasoss is one of the leading journalists and the editor–in-chief of al-Baida Press website.

HOOD and WJWC also condemn this blatant physical assault and reiterate that this attack was due to his writings about corruption in al-Baida province, and believe that it comes under a systematic and organized campaign targeting writers and journalists.

HOOD believes that Mr. Hussein was attacked because of his opinion which is protected by the Yemeni constitution.

HOOD and WJWC, therefore, urge the Attorney–General to do his entitled legal duty in protecting individuals, particularly journalists from attacks and violations. They moreover call upon Attorney–General to issue an executive order of Hussein’s release and start an unbiased serious investigation with the perpetrators.

As they also call upon the Minister of Interior to proceed an investigation with the participation of Civil Society Organizations and Journalists Syndicate on the assaults and threats subjected to activists, journalists and writers by its security authorities and to take a legal action against those involved in such attacks.

HOOD and WJWC hold both the Security chief the mayor of al-Baida responsible for this attack and call upon the local community to investigate their involvement.

Finally, HOOD and WJWC call for instant release of the leading active journalist and bringing the perpetrators who attacked him and those in responsible for his outlaw detention to justice.

Issued by HOOD and WJWC

Sat. Junaury24, 2009

Al-Khaiwani was scheduled to speak on a panel called : Oblique Government Tactics that Impede a Free Arab Press when he was stopped at the airport. So this is one tactic: Not to let them travel. The rest of the Yemeni delegation has an impromptu sit-in in solidarity and none of them went. Its amazing how terrified the Yemeni government is of free speech. Poor al-Khaiwani gets targeted so much, he has his own category. The whole country is a giant prison.

SANA’A, NewsYemen

Yemeni National Security at the Sana’a International Airport on Sunday barred journalist AbdulKarim from heading for Cairo of Egypt to participate in a conference organized by the National Council for Human Rights in cooperation with the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner.

MP Shawqi al-Qadhi, lawyer Mohammad Naji Alaw, editor of al-Nida weekly Sami Ghalib, former chairman of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate AbdulBari Taher and rights activist Afra’a al-Hariri were also barred to leave with al-Khaiwani. They condemned this “illegal” demeanor and staged a sit-in at the airport for hours.

Rights activists said the airport security’s behavior was a violation of laws and constitution as al-Khaiwani has been pardoned by President Saleh and all convictions against him have been canceled.

A source in the National Security said that banning al-Khaiwani from travel was on a request of the Passports Department at the airport.

Head of Yemeni Lawyers Syndicate, Abdullah Rajeh, said nobody has the right to prevent al-Khaiwani from traveling after he was given an amnesty for all charges against him.

The Arab Sisters Forum has condemned this “aggressive” action against al-Khaiwani who has become free after the president’s pardon.

propagnda machine revs up

the GPC journalists are getting a raise, non-governmental journalists earn as little as $100/month

Plenary meeting for the GPC media men expected to be attended by about 400
Monday, 18-August-2008 al-Motamar: Under patronage of president Ali Abdullah Saleh , President of the General People’s Congress (GPC) a plenary media meeting will be held on Tuesday with participation of GPC media men working for the different media instruments of the GPC, and those working for the media and press of the political parties members in the national alliance.

An official source at the GPC sector for intellect, culture and information has made it clear that that the meeting to be attended by more than 400 journalists aims at assessing and unifying the information address of the GPC in the present stage in pursuit of achieving the national and organisational strategies undertaken by the GPC and contributing to winning development dues, enhancing the role of the media t6hat defends the national gains and democratic process.

The source said this organisational demonstration constitutes a tradition that the GPC would hold in a periodical manner that would help enhance bonds of communication and guarantee periodical assessment of the GPC press performance. The source added the participants would discuss a group of organisational documents and studies concerned with information and means for enhancing its national message that expresses hopes and ambitions of the Yemeni people who granted the GPC their confidence in parliamentary, presidential and local elections.

The meeting is also going to discuss a number of organisational, national and professional concerns in the manner serving to raise the level of media performance and preserve rights of journalists as well the professional legislations organizing the relations among all communication parties.

The source also expects that the meeting will come out with a strategic vision regarding the information address of the GPC and resolutions and recommendations accommodating all visions and treatments and means of developing the professional performance of the GPC press.

Yemeni Security Forces has kidnapped the Journalist and Human Rights activist; Loui Al-Moaid on Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. and he was taken to The National Security building. Loui is infected with Hepatitis B virus (active) and we are concerned about his life since he might be tortured severely and there is no health care at all. (Read on …)

Yemen Observer:

A number of press journalists have filed a lawsuit against the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS) represented by the head of the syndicate, his agents, the secretary-general, his aides and members of the executive council, demanding an end to the syndicate and the closure of its headquarters.

The syndicate’s council member Marwan Damaj said that the syndicate grants membership to those who comply with its requirements: holding a university degree and being an editor-level employee rather than a technician in a newspaper. “It is the right of any person to resort to the judiciary, and we do not prevent any person from pursuing this right,” Damaj stated.

The lawsuit filed at the court demanded to speed the judicial procedure to the Ministry of Social Affairs and to force it to form a preparatory committee and an internal system of the syndicate according to the Press and Publications Law No. 25 of 1990 and under judicial supervision of the court.

The journalists who filed the lawsuit against the YJS are Ismail Abdel-Hafiz al-Absi, Abdul Hakim Tarsh al-Mogales, Ahmad al-Makosh, Ahmad Ghailan, Fadhel Saleh, Mohammad Dahan, Mohammad al-Gofi, Abdul-Qader al-Shater, Hanna Me’yad and others. They are known in the press field as they claimed in the lawsuit, and have all legal conditions to obtain journalist profession cards stipulated by the press law and which can be obtained through the YJS. The YJS, through what has been termed an alleged internal regulation, revised the definition of the journalist profession and the press, for the definition of the YJS was partially contrary to the definitions, meanings and connotations specified in the press law, the lawsuit claimed.

This is a short interview with Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani’s little daughter, Eeba, via Hub. She says the thugs were pounding his head into the street and he motioned to her to go back inside.

I hope the regime takes advantage of the temporary lull in publicity to free al-Khaiwani before we have to go into phase two of the campaign.

This is a second list. (List #one is here and is a seperate listing.) Please join us and sign at this link in support of the heroic journalist, Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani. If you have a link, please leave it in the comments. Thanks AGAIN to Nicki for keeping track of this today…. Update: 1001 people sent a letter so far. Its a beautiful thing.

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al-Motamar

Almotamar.net – The Specialised Criminal Court on Tuesday fixed the date of one month from today for announcing the sentence against the persons accused of forming an armed gang for killing and sabotage and attacking security institutions (Sana’a 2nd Cell).

In the sitting of the court held Tuesday under chairmanship of Judge Muhsin Alwan, Head of the First Instance Court, the prosecution presented its final presentation and asked the severest sentence legally stipulated against the accused members of the gang.

The presentation mentioned that the defendants had participated in formation of an armed gang for killing, sabotage and attacking security and military institutions by using explosive charges in addition to putting poisons in camps water tanks.

The lawyer of the victims’ families, the killed Majors Abdulgfhani al-Maamari and Yahya Rawee, presented his final statement and requested the execution of the defendants. The defence body of defendant Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani presented also the closing defence and asked the court to acquit their client from charges against him.

At the end of the lawyers reading the closing statement the journalist Mohammed al-Maqaleh bust into noisy laughter and when the court asked him about the reason of his laughter he continued his laughing and ridicule of the trial saying it was a farce. The court decided sending hi to prosecution for interrogation due to his ridiculing the court and violation of the sitting as well as insulting the judiciary.

Almotamar.net – An information source at the General People’s Congress (GPC) ruling party on Tuesday expressed the GPC solidarity and sympathy with the Yemeni writer and political activist Ms Tawakul Karman against the threat of killing she has been exposed to in addition immoral words on the phone; as it was reported in media instruments.

The source affirmed that differences in opinion in the national arena whatever they were must not slide to this immoral level of personal assailing and insult that is inharmonious with religious, ethical and human values as well as with bases of democratic freedom and opinion and other opinion.

The GPC information source asked all to stand against such inconvenient practices and asked the security authorities to take their measures for providing protection for the activist Tawakul Karman and hold accountable those who carried out such irresponsible and condemned action.

Really they are quite an amazing bunch.

Yemen Times:

SANA’A, June 27 — Journalists, human rights activists, as well as partisans and women leaders held a sit-in for the seventh time in front of the cabinet in the ” freedom Square” within the frame of the sit-in activities organized by the civil society organizations, protesting against blocking the SMS news services, and calling for releasing the journalist Abdulkareem Al-Khaiwani.

At the commencement of the sit-in, lawyer Khalid Al-Ansi, the executive manager of Hood organization for defending rights and freedoms, requested the audience to make a respected stance for the symbol of freedom, Al-Khaiwani.” Our fresh news this time, in this sit-in, is that Al-Khaiwani is detained,” Al-Ansi declared.

He also said,” We are having victory and we will continue till we achieve our complete demands. Al-Eshteraki and Al-Shora web sites have been unblocked and we will continue holding our sit-ins till the release of the SMS news services of Without Chains and Nass Press, as well as allowing the Without Chains Newspaper to carry on.”

For her side, Tawakul Kurman, the chairwoman of Women Journalists Without Chains, delivered a speech in which she said,” It a pity to have this sit-in held in the freedom Square.” “To call for releasing media means and insure a wide bias for practicing freedom of expression without any violations coincide with abducting Abdulkareem Al-Khaiwani, who is still in the precaution prison without charging him of any accusations.” She added.

“While we are holding this sit-in for the sake of freedom of expression and the right of having its media means, we salute journalist, Abdulkareem Al-Khaiwani, and announce our solidarity with him, considering him one of the pioneers of freedom of expression,” Kurman added. “The good pressmen are being violated, imprisoned, abducted, beaten, and wiretapped all over Yemen.” she elaborated.

However, during the sit-in, Dr. Abdullah Al-Faqeeh, Professor of political science in Sana’a University, said, “The Yemeni regime is portraying the Yemenis to the world to be a people of explosive belts, who are ready to explode themselves, as well as the world, calling the civil society to collate.” Al-Faqeeh also called the civil society to nominate Al-Khaiwani for Nobel Prize in its next turn. He also suggested preparing a letter draft of nomination and contacting the human rights organizations to support the Yemeni nominee for the prize.

He went on to say,” The prevention of having media means in Yemen suggests depriving the Yemenis from taking creative actions and transforming them to consumers of behavior examples and virtues as well as values of others. He also questioned how his regime could allow its citizens to have broadcast channels while it fears from 70 –letters messages.

YT: SANA’A, May 16 – The Center for Training and Protecting Journalist Freedoms presented its 2006 annual report to the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate, brining back memories of the sufferings of journalists and newspapers from 2002 to 2005.

Concerning last year, the report presented by Mohammed Sadiq Al-Odaini, head of the center, indicated that, “2006 witnessed 200 violations and 47 incidents of intimidation against the press, including detentions, seizures and attempted kidnapping of journalists, opinion writers, local correspondents and journalists from foreign media outlets, as well as 33 instances of threat.”

During the same year, 22 verdicts were issued against the press, including fines, tough sanctions, dismissal from employment and banning from writing. The Socialist Party-affiliated Al-Thawri newspaper suffered the most violations, with six verdicts issued against it, its editor-in-chief and writers. Four of those verdicts were issued in the span of less than a month.

Additionally, its Editor-in-Chief Khalid Salman was subjected to a series of intimidating acts and likely will experience many more by Socialist Party leaders themselves because he wanted to report professionally and impartially even if against the party’s best interest.

The report alleged that such acts of intimidation prompted Salman to seek political asylum in London, an unprecedented event in press history.

Continued on page 3

Other verdicts were issued against journalists and private as well as partisan newspapers, such as Al-Wahdawi, Al-Nahar, Al-Nass and Al-Hurriyya. The year ended as trials continued against independent, and partisan newspapers such as Al-Wasat, Al-Thawri, Al-Nahar, Al-Wahdawi, Al-Shoura.net, Al-Shoura Voice and Al-Balagh. (Read on …)

YO:

The Yemeni Journalist Syndicate held a protest this week, to express solidarity with the journalist Zaid al-Ghabri of the Al-Jumhuria newspaper in Taiz, who was recently attacked in his home. The YSJ was also protesting the continuing oppression of all journalists. “This conference is to show solidarity with the oppressed journalists,” Sami Ghaleb, a member of YJS, said.

Seven members of the military police broke into al-Ghabri’s home and attacked him and his two sons, said Fikri Qasim, his colleague. The military police declined to hand over the attackers to the investigation, he said. Marwan Damaj, the General Secretary of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate, said that what was most significant is that the perpetrators of attacks on journalists have not been identified or punished. Some 30 journalists from different newspapers attended the protest. But many journalists were disappointed with the low turnout.

“It is a weak activity, and it did not show much,” Balqis al-Lahabi said. Saif al-Washli, a freelance journalist in Sana’a, said that he has been kidnapped once, by unknown assailants. He spoke about the kidnapping for the first time at the protest, and said he has been threatened again. “The danger is lodged in the terrorist gangs that terrify the journalists,” he said. Al-Washali said that he was attacked because he criticized the tribal dominance over the government. “I am working in the media that belongs to the president, and my position is so sensitive, so I thought not to talk.”

Al-Washli said that he fears that his colleagues will not stand by him, which is why he has not spoken of his ordeal until now, he said. “See, out of a thousand journalists, the crowd that has come here for the protest is so few in number,” he said. He added that the weak stand of the YJS is another reason that he didn’t speak out earlier. “The syndicate contents itself with protests and condemning press releases,” he said, “whereas it has to press on the concerned authority to investigate and find out the criminals and protect the journalists.”

Ali al-Faqeeh, another journalist, said that during the protest, Abdul-Hadi Naji, a correspondent for Al-Ayyam in Aden, was still locked in the prison for financial problems, and he has since been accused of further crimes. Damaj said that the worst thing is that the journalists’ attackers are unknown. “The unknown identities of the attackers make it a difficult problem to face,” he said.

Furthermore, there is no single case in which the attackers’ identity was revealed by the police, he said. Mohamed al-Audaini, the head of the Yemeni Freedom center, said that he has been charged with murder. “I have no idea whom I am supposed to have killed,” he said. He feels these charges stem from a government plot against him. He thanked Nasr Taha Moustafa, the head of the syndicate, for his personal efforts to get him out of the jail. Some of the audience objected to the use of the word ‘personal’ for it is reducing the role played by the syndicate.

Yet he insisted on this, and said it is true. “Without his personal efforts, nothing would have been done for me,” he said. Abdul-Raheem Mohsen, a writer, said that there are many non-official organizations that work against journalists. He added that the syndicate is gathering the cream of the society, and they have to work together as a single unit to make these acts effective.

Few of the YJS’ top officials attended the protest. But Ghaleb said that their attendance isn’t important, because they are simply gathering in solidarity, and it is enough if just one person shows up from the syndicate.

SANA’A, Dec. 20 — Four Yemeni journalists urged the United Nations to protect them from physical harm, hunting, assaults and harassments. They complained that their freedom of expression is restricted.

In a letter sent to U.N. Human Rights Council, a copy of which was published by Al-Tajamu’ weekly, journalists urged the UNHRC to intercede and take an international decision to protect them in conformity with international conventions and legitimacies.

“The State hunts us, abuses our rights and restrict our freedom of expressions,” the Yemeni journalists said in their letter. “We were subjected to abduction, forcible disappearance and illegal and unconstitutional arrests. We are deprived of our livelihood sources because we criticize corruption and the military regime that has been grasping power for 28 years.”

The four journalists called on their colleagues to support their request, which is backed and signed by the famous writer and human rights activist Abdurrahim Mohsin, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Al-Deyyar newspaper, Hamoud Al-Mahdhari, Editor-In-Chief of Al-Shoura Net, Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani and the journalist Abdulqawi Al-Qubati.

Al-Khaiwani at the conference on press freedoms:

YO: Journalist Abdul-Kareem al-Khaiwani totally disagreed with the minister. “It is hard to even discuss press issues under this climate of constant oppression,” he said. Al-Khaiwani, who was imprisoned, but later pardoned by a presidential decree, gave examples of recent journalists who suffered oppression.

“Qaid al-Tairi was kidnapped, and the ministry of interior did not investigate that,” he said. “He was banned from traveling and was sent back from the airport.” He noted that the same thing had happened to him at the airport, though there was no judicial provision for the ban. Al-Khaiwani then suggested that legislation was only part of the problem. “What can the law say about the cloning of newspapers?” he said, referring to his newspaper being assembled by someone else under the same name.

“What about the case of Rahma Hojeirah and Hafiz al-Bokari, two journalists who have been badly slandered in one of the newspapers?” Motahar al-Masri, the deputy Minister of Interior, said that no actions were being undertaken, because no legislation warranted such actions. Both the deputies of the minister of the interior and the minister of information said that the current press legislation was not being applied, because it would restrain journalist’s freedom too greatly.