Yemen’s Most Dire Threat: Terrorism or Journalism?

Yemen’s Most Dire Threat: Terrorism or Journalism?

The situation grows more perilous by the day in the small nation of Yemen, on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Every day come new reports of mosque bombings, attacks on Western embassies, regrouping of terrorist organizations, and rebel advances towards the capital, Sana. In the face of such threats, the government has toughened its stance -- against journalists. Yemen has been freeing convicted terrorists, while imprisoning journalists.

The most troubling case involves the respected Yemeni journalist Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani, an outspoken advocate of democracy and press freedom, who faces a possible death sentence when he returns to court on June 9.

Al-Khaiwani's latest clash with Yemeni authorities started late one night last June, when police broke into his apartment and awakened him with body blows. He was forced into custody and charged with "plotting to topple the ruling regime." This was not his first encounter with the regime's methods. His work as editor of the opposition newspaper al-Shura had already earned him the wrath of the government, and repeated beatings and imprisonments.

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