Yemen: Arrest of human rights defender and journalist
Front Line is deeply concerned over the arrest and detention of human rights defender and journalist Abdul-Karim al-Khaiwani in Sana'a, on 20 June 2007
Members of the national security forces broke into Abdul-Karim al-Khaiwani's house on 20 June and arrested him. According to his lawyer, he was beaten and sustained injuries as a result. Following his arrest he was taken to Sana’a prison for interrogation. He is under investigation for allegedly having ties with an al-Houthi terrorist cell, involved in fighting government forces in the Northwestern city of Sa’ada. On 25 June his pre-detention order was renewed by a state security court for a month pending trial. Abdul-Karim al-Khaiwani has not been granted access to his lawyer.
Abdul-Karim Al-Khaiwani is the former Editor-in-Chief of the opposition online newspaper Al-Shoura.net, the weekly publication of the opposition Union of Popular Forces. He has reported on human rights issues, especially in regard to human rights violations against the Zaidi community and those suspected of having links to al-Huthi.
Abdul-Karim al-Khaiwani was previously arrested in 2004 and sentenced to one-year imprisonment by a court in Sana’a. He was accused of supporting Hussain Badr al-Din al-Huthi, a cleric from the Zaidi community. Al-Shura was also closed down for six months. An appeal hearing was scheduled for December 2004 but was delayed. He was released on 23 March 2005, following a presidential pardon.
Front Line believes that Abdul-Karim al-Khaiwani has been targeted as a result of his peaceful and legitimate activities in defence of human rights and in particular freedom of expression.
Front Line urges the authorities in Yemen to immediately and unconditionally release Abdul-Karim al-Khaiwani and carry out an investigation into the allegations into the reports of ill-treatment that Abdul-Karim al-Khaiwani sustained when he was arrested.