Houthi representative urges mediation committee to investigate jail massacre [Archives:2008/1137/Front Page]
By: Mohammed Bin Sallam
SA'ADA, March 12 ) Sheikh Saleh Habra, who represented Houthis in the negotiations with government officials in Doha, claimed earlier this week that the presidential mediation committee should immediately respond to his request that a committee be formed to visit Fakhra central prison in Sa'ada and investigate an alleged massacre committed against jailed Houthi followers.
The tribal leader continued that many inmates died as a result of inhaling toxic gas when the jail officials threw tear gas at them. He also said that other detainees were subjected to severe torture, requiring them to be taken to nearby hospitals to receive treatment as a result.
“Such incidents, if not investigated, may intimidate Sa'ada citizens, notably the families that were not allowed to visit their jailed relatives after they heard about the torture,” Habra confirmed, “I have tape- recorded voices of the prisoners while being tortured by jail officials.”
The Al-Haqq party on its website accused Yemeni authorities Tuesday of killing seven jailed Houthi supporters as a result of the incident, saying that such behavior implies an attempt to breach the most recent agreement signed by Houthis and the government in Qatar.
The opposition party claimed that the presidential mediation committee, mandated to oversee how committed both sides are to the agreement, was not allowed to enter the jail and investigate the incident. They mentioned that such developments followed both the authority's and opposition's criticism of the Doha-brokered peace deal. Official sources refused to comment on the incident, but said that the presidential mediation committee will release on Wednesday a statement explaining the motives and causes of the incident.
Local sources attributed the jail incident to the known slogan “Death to Israel eath to America” which some imprisoned Houthis chanted on Sunday in solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza. As a result, officers beat them with sticks, fired live ammunition and hurled tear gas at them.
Qatari foreign minister assistant Saif Albuainain, the Qatari mediation team leader, returned to Sana'a on Tuesday to resume efforts with other team and presidential committee members with the aim of ensuring that the government and Houthis remain committed to the peace agreement, Habra told the Yemen Times.
The joint committee is projected to began negotiations on the suspended issues Wednesday afternoon, mainly those related with the compensation approved for citizens whose property was damaged in the war, releasing inmates jailed over alleged connections with Houthis and lifting an embargo on foodstuffs and medical supplies in the area, believed to be populated by Houthi loyalists.
“Official media outlets reported two weeks ago that the government freed more than 380 prisoners suspected of being Houthi supporters, but the story was later proved to be incorrect and inauthentic,” Habra maintained, adding that the names of the released prisoners in the story were actually released a year ago after the authority found that they had no connections with Abdulmalik Al-Houthi and his followers.
Fighting between government troops and Houthis first broke out in June 2004, and in 2006, the Qatari government persuaded both conflicting sides to reach a ceasefire agreement. In January 2007, the government and Houthi followers breached the agreement by resuming fierce clashes until February, when they signed another peace deal, sponsored by Qatar.
Asked when Houthis will abandon their mountaintop positions, Habra replied, “We will request Houthis to leave their mountaintop positions and return home. The government officials and military commanders sitting in their homes have nothing to do with this demand. If Houthis are guaranteed even the minimal living standards, I am sure they will abandon their positions.” He added that up to five thousand homes, where more than fifteen thousand families were living, were damaged during the war, along with other property and farmlands.
According to Habra, military tanks are still deployed in some Sa'ada villages. “If these tanks are pulled out of the villages, I think that Houthi supporters will abandon their mountaintop positions,” he said, adding that he is optimistic that the mediation efforts may reach fruitful results.
State Security Court on Tuesday revoked a previous decision to reveal explosives belonging to the so-called Sana'a second cell, accused of supporting Abdulmalik Al-Houthi to attendees during the hearing. Instead of displaying the explosives belonging to each suspect at a time, the court showed all the suspects' explosives once at one hearing.
The court hearing was described by suspects and their defense-advocates as merely for media purposes, since the court invited various local and international media outlets to it earlier but delayed notifying the suspects of it until Monday evening. The session was spent mostly displaying the seized explosives, allegedly belonging to the 15 Second Sana'a cell comrades accused of having connections with Houthis.
The seized material included CDs containing news stories about the Sa'ada war and interviews with Abdulmalik Al-Houthi, which is why the authorities arrested, jailed and tried suspected editor-in-chief of Al-Shoura Weekly, Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani. In court, Al-Khaiwani requested that his passport, laptop and cell phone, which authorities confiscated during his detention, be returned.
The court granted the defence lawyers' appeal regarding Al-Khaiwani's belongings, to be presented at another hearing scheduled for March 25. The sitting is the first of its kind held by the State Security Court after Supreme Court's Constitutional Department took a decision rejecting a challenge filed by Al-Khaiwani's defense advocate against the legitimacy of the prosecution.
The trial provoked harsh local and international criticism of Yemen's judiciary, accused of being unjust in prosecuting journalists. Many international organizations concerned with journalistic freedoms and human rights released various statements condemning the State Security Court and demanding that it stop its arbitrary procedures against journalists.
——
[archive-e:1137-v:18-y:2008-d:2008-03-13-p:front]
