Amnesty International: the rule of law sidelined in the name of security in Yemen
Yemen-USA, Politics, 9/25/2003

Amnesty International said in a report yesterday: On 16 July 2003 the Minister of Interior of Yemen told Parliament that 95 people accused of belonging to al-Qa'ida were released because they "had changed their ideas", and that 195 others remained in detention because they "persist in holding on to the ideas they believe in". He did not refer to any judicial process for these detainees because the rule of law has been sidelined. They are held totally at the mercy of the government and security forces, far removed from judicial scrutiny.

The report said: The case of these detainees reflects a significant regression in the government's human rights policy and practice since the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US, which Amnesty International condemned unreservedly. Ten days after these attacks the Yemeni Prime Minister announced "we have decided that investigation[s] must be carried out into anyone who had any connections (with) Afghanistan".(1)

The report added: In the weeks and months following this statement, security forces carried out mass arrests targeting Yemeni and foreign nationals, including women, and children as young as 12 years of age. Arrests were made without the judicial supervision required by law, and detainees have invariably been subjected to lengthy incommunicado detention, during which some of the detainees alleged that they were tortured or ill-treated. Most of the Yemenis who were arrested were held for weeks or months before they were released uncharged or tried. Those who remain continue to be held indefinitely outside any recognized legal framework, without charge and without judicial supervision. Most foreign nationals were deported after weeks or months of interrogation in incommunicado detention. They were denied access to asylum procedures and the judiciary to challenge their deportation, and no assessment of the risks of torture or execution in the countries to which they were sent were known to have been carried out.

Amnesty International added: Government political discourse, coupled with security forces acting beyond judicial control and with total impunity, generated a climate of fear among civil society which had been progressively developing into a vibrant agency for positive human rights changes. It initially remained silent in the face of the blatant disregard for the human rights achievements made by Yemen in recent years. This silence facilitated the persistent pattern of harassment against journalists. Reporting events in the wake of the 11 September attacks required extreme caution from journalists in order to avoid warnings, threats or arrest by security forces. However, Amnesty International is encouraged by the re-emerging voice of civil society, including journalists, calling for the restoration of the rule of law and respect for Yemen's international human rights obligations.

The report that spoke of past progress in Yemen said: Regrettably, this progress is today threatened by the changes in regional and world politics brought about by the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US. The government's security policies adopted in the wake of 11 September events represent a serious setback to its previous progressive undertakings and a further drift away from its obligations under international human rights treaties, including Article 9(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which states: "Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law."

Previous Stories:
  More than 1,000 Arabs foreigners expelled from Yemen   (9/20/2003)
  Yemeni president urges Aznar to release journalist Teiseir Allouni   (9/20/2003)
  September 26th: Yemen releases 34 al-Qaida accused members   (8/29/2003)
  Washington warns against attacks of its interests in Yemen   (8/22/2003)
  Yemeni President: our dealings with Americans are in the open   (7/17/2003)
  Muller: we will continue to support Yemen in fighting terrorism   (6/3/2003)

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