Yemen: Government continues to harass independent press

September 20, 1999

His Excellency President Ali Abdullah Saleh
c/o His Excellency Ambassador Abdul Wahab al-Hajjri
Embassy of the Republic of Yemen
2600 Virginia Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20037

Your Excellency,

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to express its deep concern about continuing state restrictions on the press in Yemen. We are particularly dismayed by the authorities’ ongoing harassment of the thrice-weekly newspaper Al-Ayyamand the closure of the opposition weekly Al-Shoura.We call on Your Excellency to assume a leadership role to help reverse state restrictions on the press and to guarantee the right of journalists to practice their profession freely.

Over the last ten days, state prosecutors have twice summoned Al-Ayyam’seditor-in-chief, Hisham Basharaheel, for questioning about news reports published in the paper in recent weeks. On September 11, he was called in for questioning about an interview with the London-based Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri that was published in Al-Ayyamin August. During his interrogation, Basharaheel was accused of publishing information from “unreliable sources.” Seven days later, on September 18, he was again summoned by prosecutors in Aden to answer questions about an Al-Ayyamnews item that apparently misquoted passages from the Holy Quran. The item, published in July, reported on a statement issued by an opposition party where the incorrect text originally appeared.

It is unclear whether prosecutors intend to file charges against Basharaheel in either case. However, CPJ views these most recent incidents as part of a continuing pattern of harassment against the newspaper, known for its independent coverage of political affairs in Yemen. On August 4, a Yemeni court sentenced Basharaheel and writer Ali Haitham Ghareeb to suspended prison terms of six and ten months respectively on charges that included “instigating national feuds,” “instigating the spirit of separatism,” and “harming national unity.” The charges were brought in May in response to an article by Ghareeb that criticized the structure of local government in Yemen.

CPJ is also deeply concerned about the September 16 appellate court ruling ordering the closure of the opposition weekly Al-Shoura.The court’s decision stemmed from an incident that occurred in February, when two separate versions of the paper were published under the same name, thus violating provisions of the press law. But according to journalists from Al-Shoura,Yemeni security authorities had helped publish the second version of Al-Shouraas a subterfuge.

Although the newspaper has appealed the decision to Yemen’s highest court, CPJ has learned that Your Excellency’s government has issued an order for the paper’s closure. Journalists at Al-Shourahave charged that the paper’s closure was politically motivated with the aim of sidelining an opposition newspaper in advance of Thursday’s presidential election.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonpartisan organization of journalists dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide, views these recent incidents of harassment and censorship as flagrant violations of the right to free expression as guaranteed by international press freedom standards. We remind Your Excellency that Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees journalists the right to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

We urge Your Excellency to use your good offices to ensure that Yemeni authorities cease all legal and other forms of harassment against journalists in response to their professional work. We also urge you to ensure that Al-Shourais allowed to resume publication immediately, without further interference from the state.

Thank you for your attention to these important matters. We look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director


Join CPJ in Protesting Attacks on the Press in Yemen

Send a letter to:

His Excellency President Ali Abdullah Saleh
c/o His Excellency Ambassador Abdul Wahab al-Hajjri
Embassy of the Republic of Yemen
2600 Virginia Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20037