URGENT ACTION

YEMENI JOURNALIST ABDUCTED

A

© Private

male Yemeni journalist, Muhammad al-Maqalih, has been abducted in the capital, Sana’a, after criticizing the government over continuing armed clashes in Sa’da province, northern Yemen. Muhammad al-Maqalih’s whereabouts are unknown, and his life is at risk.

Muhammad al-Maqalih, a 49-year-old father of seven children, was abducted from a street in Sana’a at 11pm on 17 September. Eyewitnesses told his family that he was taken by a group of men who arrived in a white minibus, which had its licence plates obscured. The men took Muhammad al-Maqalih, and deflated one of the tyres on his car, which was nearby. There has been no news of Muhammad al-Maqalih since.

Muhammad al-Maqalih is a journalist and a member of the Yemeni Socialist Party. Human rights activists in Yemen suspect that he may have been abducted by plain-clothes security forces personnel because of his criticism of the government, in particular with regards to the clashes between the army and followers of a Shi’a Muslim cleric in Sa’da. His comments criticizing the army’s killing of civilians were published on the Yemeni Socialist Party’s website (http://www.aleshteraki.net).

Abduction of political opponents and critics of the state by security agents is a known practice in Yemen, particularly during political crises such as the clashes in Sa’da. Those abducted are often tortured or otherwise ill-treated.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Arabic, English or your own language:

• Calling on the authorities to clarify Muhammed al-Maqalih’s whereabouts and to release him without delay if he is being held solely for his criticism of the government;

• Noting that, if this is the case, Amnesty International would consider him to be a prisoner of conscience;

• If Muhammed al-Maqalih is held on suspicion of a recognizably criminal offence, urging the authorities to ensure that he is protected from torture and other ill-treatment, and allowed prompt and regular access to lawyers of his choosing, his family and any medical treatment that he may require.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 30 OCTOBER 2009 TO:

President

‘Ali ‘Abdullah Saleh

Office of the President of the Republic of Yemen

Sana’a

Republic of Yemen

Fax: +967 127 4147

Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of the Interior

Mutaher Rashad al Masri

Ministry of the Interior

Sana’a

Republic of Yemen

Fax: +967 1 332 511

Salutation: Your Excellency

And copies to:

Minister of Human Rights

Houda ‘Ali ‘Abdullatif al-Baan

Ministry for Human Rights

Sana’a

Republic of Yemen

Fax: +967 1 444 833

Salutation: Your Excellency