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ALERT - YEMEN
20 June 2007
Outspoken editor of Al-Shoura online newspaper detained on terrorism
allegations
SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York
**For further information on previous harassment of Abdelkarim al-Khaiwani
(Abdulkareem Al-Khaiwani) see IFEX alerts of 5 March 2007, 23, 9 and 7
March 2005, and 17 and 7 September 2004**
(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 20 June 2007 CPJ press release:
Yemen: Editor detained on terrorism allegations
New York, June 20, 2007 - The Committee to Protect Journalists called on
Yemeni authorities to detail terrorism accusations it has leveled against
an opposition newspaper editor detained today by government forces at his
home in the capital, Sana'a.
At around noon on Wednesday, Yemeni security agents raided the home of
Abdelkarim al-Khaiwani, editor of the online newspaper Al-Shoura, which is
affiliated with the Popular Forces Union Party, several Yemeni journalists
and local news reports said. Al-Khaiwani was brought before a state
security prosecutor charged with handling terrorism cases. He is under
investigation for allegedly having ties to a terrorist cell associated with
rebels fighting government forces in the northwestern city of Saada,
journalists and news reports said. The prosecutor ordered al-Khaiwani held
for the next seven days, those sources said.
"We are troubled by the detention of Abdelkarim al-Khaiwani, and call on
officials to publicly disclose the evidence used to hold him," said CPJ
Executive Director Joel Simon. "While the accusations are serious, we
remain concerned that al-Khaiwani is being punished for his outspokenness."
According to Yemeni press reports, al-Khaiwani is being investigated for
alleged ties to 16 men and two women recently arrested for belonging to a
terrorist cell in Sana'a said to be affiliated with rebel leader Abdel
Malik al-Hawthi. Over the last three years, Al-Hawthi, his family members,
and their followers have battled Yemeni government forces in Saada.
Fighting was heavy until a ceasefire was reached in recent days.
Al-Khaiwani has been a harsh critic of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh
and, in particular, his government's fight against the rebels.
In 2004, as editor of what was then a print weekly, al-Khaiwani was
sentenced to a year in jail for incitement, insulting the president,
publishing false news, and causing tribal and sectarian discrimination.
Articles had criticized the government's conduct in the fighting and had
accused it of fostering terrorism with its actions.
For further information, contact Joel Campagna (x103) or Ivan Karakashian
(x104) at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212
465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail: mideast@cpj.org, jcampagna@cpj.org,
ivan@cpj.org; Internet: http://www.cpj.org
The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of CPJ.
In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit CPJ.
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