YEMEN: GOVERNMENT INTIMIDATING JOURNALISTS TO CURB

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 001586

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/18/2017
TAGS: PHUM PREL YM PTER
SUBJECT: YEMEN: GOVERNMENT INTIMIDATING JOURNALISTS TO CURB
SAADA REPORTING

REF: SANAA 001577

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Angie Bryan for reasons
1.4 (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) In two separate incidents ROYG forces harassed
journalists of an independent Yemeni weekly, "al-Shar'e" (The
Street). On July 20 security forces arrested and detained an
al-Shar'e reporter, and ten days later security forces
entered the paper's offices, damaged property, and brought
charges against the founders of al-Shar'e. This harassment
indicates the paper's frank reporting is striking a nerve in
the Yemeni establishment. END SUMMARY.


MOD SUPPRESSING AL-SHAR'E REPORTING
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2. (C) In two separate incidents, ROYG officers have acted
against journalists at Sanaa-based independent weekly
al-Shar'e. EMBOFFS on July 31 met with Nayif Hassan and
Nabeel Shabib--owners, editors, and writers of "al-Shar'e."
The two, who describe themselves as independent investigative
journalists, established "al-Shar'e" with their own funds to
provide straight-forward information to the Yemeni public
without bias. Hassan told EMBOFFS that on July 30 nine armed
men from Yemen's Ministry of Defense (MOD) entered his office
building looking for him, threatening to kill him, and
accusing all journalists of being terrorists. He hid and the
men left after damaging office property. The MOD is charging
Hassan and "al-Shar'e" with endangering national security by
publishing maps on the Saada conflict revealing sensitive
information. (NOTE: Local English-language daily "Yemen
Observer" reported on August 4 that the MOD's prosecutor is
accusing Hassan and "al-Shar'e" of trying to breach state
security, abuse the army, affect the soldiers' morale, and
publish information on field operations. END NOTE) Hassan
argued his reporting on the Saada conflict was geared toward
accurately portraying the situation there without favoring
the ROYG or the Huthis. He pointed out that the Huthis
labeled him an infidel when he was in Saada reporting on the
conflict.


3. (C) Hassan went on to say that Minister of Interior Rashad
Muhammad al-Alimi was trying to mediate his case and was told
by Minister of Defense Ahmed Ali that the case is not in his
(Ali's) hands because "he cannot go over (Northwest Regional
Military Commander General) Ali Muhsen (al-Ahmar)."
(COMMENT: By saying "go over," Hassan probably meant the
Minister of Defense was saying he could not overrule Ali
Muhsen. While there is no information to corroborate Ali
Muhsen's role in Hassan's case, one of Hassan's articles in
"al-Shar'e" accused Ali Muhsen of lying and embezzling. It
is possible that Ali Muhsen would want to silence such
reporting and is playing a role in the actions taken against
Hassan. END COMMENT.)


4. (C) Hassan and Shabib's cases are now with Yemen's
Criminal Court and they are appealing their cases to the
Attorney General. The ROYG has for several years had its eye
on Hassan and Shabib, who have covered controversial stories
as private investigative journalists despite ROYG charges
against them. In 2005 Hassan was sentenced to six months in
jail for publishing an article on Yemen's military
institutions, although the sentence was not enforced, and was
later given a six month jail sentence (again not enforced)
for writing on Yemeni presidential succession. In 2004
Shabib was given a six month jail sentence for writing on the
arrests of reformers in Saudi Arabia, although his sentence
was also suspended. (COMMENT: The pattern of non-enforced
jail sentences probably reflects the ROYG's desire to
intimidate Yemeni journalists into self-censorship without
the more severe response that enforcing sentences would
engender. Hassan and Shabib noted the MOD has reminded them
of the previous charges against them and threatened to
implement them. END COMMENT.)


5. (C) In a separate meeting Abd al-Karim al-Khayawani, an
"al-Shar'e" journalist, met with EMBOFFS on July 30 and
discussed the actions taken against him by ROYG security
personnel. According to al-Khayawani, five men dressed in
civilian clothes accompanied by a truck-mounted machine gun
and claiming to be electricians showed up at his home on July

20. After his seven-year-old daughter opened the door, the
men threw her aside, physically abused al-Khayawani, and
dragged him into a civilian car. They then brought him to a
prosecutor's office where they claimed to be national
security officers and demanded to be let in. Al-Khayawani's
arrest warrant was then prepared as he watched and the
prosecutor called Yemen's Attorney General to arrange for
al-Khayawani's home to be searched. Yemeni police broke into
his home on the same day, held his wife at gunpoint, and
confiscated papers, electronics, and family pictures. The
prosecutor charged al-Khayawani with "overthrowing the
system" and put him in prison for two hours after which he
was brought back to the prosecutor's office and charged with
being part of the "Sanaa Cell" terrorist group.


6. (C) After six days in prison al-Khayawani was questioned
at the prosecutor's office about unpublished articles, poems,
and personal letters found in his house during the raid,
including a letter to al-Khayawani from a US journalist
inquiring about the possibility of inviting Huthi
representatives to the United States for a seminar on the
situation in Saada. Based on this letter, they accused
al-Khayawani of trying to change the US perception of the
Huthis by attempting to send Huthis to the United States.
Al-Khayawani was then charged with "promoting the Huthi
ideology and communicating with the Huthis." However, he has
since been released from custody due to health problems
stemming from low blood pressure and a bad heart.


COMMENT
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7. (C) "Al-Shar'e" stands out among Yemen's independent
papers for its energy and professionalism. Even Minister of
Information Hassan Ahmad al-Lawzi spoke well of it, at least
at first, in a recent meeting with the Charge (REFTEL),
saying he supports "al-Shar'e" and is proud to have
personally granted the paper's publishing license. He added
that "al-Shar'e" publishes news in a "new way," but
unfortunately people "use their hands" to express displeasure
with its reporting. These recent events tend to indicate its
reporting is striking a nerve with Yemen's established
powers, possibly with Ali Muhsen in particular. The failure
of the ROYG to enforce sentences against the journalists does
not, in any real way, blunt the desired effect of the
intimidation. END COMMENT.


BRYAN