The Cost of Free Speech

Armies of Liberation:

Amnesty International has today condemned the jailing of a leading journalist in Yemen just days before an event in London at which the journalist is in line for a human rights media award.

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Mr Al-Khaiwani, who was on trial with 13 other defendants, appears to have been convicted as a result of his professional work as a journalist, including his coverage of armed clashes between government forces and supporters of the late Zaidi Shia cleric Hussein Badr al-Din al-Huthi in the northern Yemeni province of Sa'dah. Some of the cases defendants were charged with violent activities and one is believed to have been sentenced to death.

Mr Al-Khaiwani is one of many activist journalist and critics of the state in Yemen who have been persecuted for their peaceful criticism of government policies.