By IPS Correspondents
SANA'A, Jul 1 2005 (IPS)

A Yemeni newspaper says that a local ruling party politician, Sheikh Mohammad Ahmad Mansour, came to its offices last week with a group of armed followers and threatened the editors with violence if they did not stop publishing critical articles.

Mansour had filed a lawsuit against the paper, Al-Nihar, last week over three published reports accusing his followers of attacking a witness in a kidnapping case and charging the sheikh with human rights violations.

The conflict arose as international press freedom groups condemn what they say is a climate of mounting difficulty for the press in Yemen.

Last December, the independent daily Al Hurriya (meaning “Freedom” in Arabic) was closed for a year by a Sana’a court. Its editor, Abdulkareem Sabra, and one of its journalists, Abdulqawi Al Qubati, were sentenced to two years in prison with hard labour.

In May, two media assistants, Munif Damesh and Naif Damesh, were arrested while working for foreign journalists and held in detention for more than a month without charge.

The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS) urged the Minister of Interior in a statement to take prompt action to protect al-Nihar’s editors from Mansour’s followers.

The YJS also expressed its general concern over the situation of Yemeni journalists who are routinely subjected to threats and attacks.

The YJS says it is holding the Ministry of Interior accountable for the protection of al-Nihar’s editors, and sent a copy of its statement to the General Prosecutor urging further investigation of violations of press freedom in the country.

A storm of arrests and detentions of journalists in the last few years have encouraged individuals like Mansour and his followers to pressure reporters who tell the truth, journalist Mohammad al-Maqtari told IPS.

In another recent case, Rahma Hujaira, a journalist and chairwoman of the Yemen Female Journalists Forum, and her husband Hafiz al-Bukari, secretary-general of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS), say they were defamed by the pro-government newspaper Al-Bilad for accusing the government of human rights violations, particularly in regards to press freedom.

Al-Bilad’s blistering articles about Hujaira provoked a backlash from the local journalist community and press freedom advocates.

Supportive colleagues gathered last Wednesday in front of the headquarters of the syndicate to denounce the Al-Bilad newspaper and the Ministry of Information for its treatment of journalists. Hujaira had earlier resigned from the ministry in protest.

“It is not honourable for me to be affiliated with a ministry that is unable to take a stand,” she said.

Hujaira told IPS that Al-Bilad attacked her in response to an editorial she wrote in the Al-Thawri opposition newspaper accusing the government of quashing press freedom.

“As our responsibility is getting greater as journalists, we have more worries about tomorrow,” journalist Mahasin al-Hawati told IPS.

The YJS suspects that the Ministry of Information gave license to the paper to libel Hujaira, describing the editor-in-chief of Al-Bilad, Abdul-Malik al-Fishany, as “neither a journalist by profession nor an academic.”

“This insidious and personal attack against prominent journalists and active defenders of civil liberties is extremely worrying,” said Aidan White, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

The Yemeni media community expressed surprise when the deputy prosecutor of press and publications approved requests by Al-Bilad to delay investigations into the Hujaira case, and refused to institute a travel ban on its editor.

“Wrongdoers are usually penalised instantly under the law. And so are press-related lawsuits,” said lawyer Khaled al-Anisi. “What is more surprising is the insistence of the deputy prosecutor on not requesting immigration authorities to ban his travel.”

He dismissed the deputy prosecutor’s statements that if Al-Fishany leaves the country, he will be tried in absentia. “Why not stop the incident before it happens?” he asked.

The YJS has formed a committee to discuss a new draft press law prepared by the Ministry of Information.

Lawyer Raqiah Humaidan said it is crucial to know the shortcomings of the draft law, and called for reinforcement of journalists’ freedom and independence.

Yemeni journalists also have difficulty earning a living, as their salaries tend to be lower than those paid to colleagues in neighbouring countries. The government has promised many times to address demands that journalists be given a special classification, raising their wages and making their profession more respected.

Leaders of YJS recently met with Speaker of Parliament Sheikh Abdullah al-Ahmar and a number of MPs, and asked to discuss the situation of journalists within the framework of the national strategy of wages and salaries currently being debated in Parliament.

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