Yemen: Without Chains calls for solidarity against expression freedom violations

SANA’A,NewsYemen -- Women Journalists with out Chains (WJWC) is very concerned because of the series of violations which affected the freedom of opinion and expression in Yemen, which are increased in intensity in the first quarter of 2008.

This frightening rate was monitored by our organization and it shows that daily violations occurred recently. In this context, the organization stood of:

- Specialized penal prosecution's insistence on the arrest of our colleague, Mohamed al-Makaleh, chief editor of the aleshteraki.net, website of Yemeni Socialist Party, detained in prison since April 22, 2008 and the court extended his incarceration for thirty days, over laughter in the court room.

- The abduction and detention of the satiric artist comedy Fahd al-Qarni, who is abducted by the political security apparatus on (2-4-2008) and now detained in the central prison in Taiz, convicted of serious criminal offences because some of his songs classified by the Ministry of Culture as a mockery of the ruling party and harms of the president. This interest is a flagrant violation of freedom of art, creativity and freedom of opinion and expression, as well as disruption of creativity, art. The obstacles put before for them was more than enough. As a result of that, there is no art or creativity by the actors are supposed to be a patron of art and his bodyguard for creativity in Yemen!!

- The abduction and detention of a journalist and political activist Ben Omar Ahmad Farid, writer and poet Ahmad al-Qama and Abbas al-Asal repression since 1-4-2008 pending notification of their writings, and supporting protests in the south. Another flagrant violation of their freedom and their right of opinion and expression, and thus beyond the power of all values of democracy and press freedoms that talk by the day and night!

- Prosecution's security journalist Anis Mansour press coverage of South news festivals and protests, in clear violation of the right of the journalist profession practicing journalist and his duty towards the people and events of their demands.

-- NewsYemen