Protesters demand release of Yemeni press freedom activist
Monday, 24 January 2011
SANAA, Jan 23 (AFP): About 200 journalists marched in Sanaa Sunday to demand the release of press freedom activist Tawakel Karman and other detainees, while witnesses said student protesters clashed with police in the capital.
The journalists were marching from their union office to the prosecutor's office to demand the release of those detained.
Karman, known to have been involved in pro-Tunisia revolt protests which have also seen calls for political change in Yemen, heads the rights group Women Journalists Without Chains.
Yemeni police arrested Karman in a main street in Sanaa as she headed home with her husband overnight, according to rights activists who declined to be named.
The reason for her arrest was unclear, but she is being held in Sanaa's main prison, according to her family.
A security official said the arrest stemmed from a warrant issued by prosecutors, without specifying why the warrant was issued.
"The detention of Karman is a criminal offence and an immoral act," Mohammed Qobati, a spokesman for Yemen's parliamentary opposition, said in a statement on Sunday.
Karman, a member of the central committee of the opposition Islamist Al-Islah (Reform) party, has been involved in Sanaa demonstrations in support of a popular revolt in Tunisia which led to the ousting of president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
The Sanaa protests were also marked by calls for political change in Yemen while there were more calls for change by dozens of students protesting outside Sanaa University on Sunday. Witnesses said clashes broke out as security forces tried to disperse the students.
A cameraman for Al-Arabiya satellite channel who was filming the clashes was briefly detained, his station said.
And a cameraman for Al-Jazeera was beaten by police, the Qatar-based station said.
Earlier report adds: : Nearly one thousand Yemeni protesters gathered inside and outside Sanaa University in the capital to call for a "Jasmine revolution" against their president who has been in power for 32 years.
The demonstrators, including students and opposition activists, chanted slogans, demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The growing popular protests have taken place in major Yemeni cities for seven days since the Tunisians overthrew their president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. "Oh Ali, join your friend Ben Ali," the crowds chanted.
The journalists were marching from their union office to the prosecutor's office to demand the release of those detained.
Karman, known to have been involved in pro-Tunisia revolt protests which have also seen calls for political change in Yemen, heads the rights group Women Journalists Without Chains.
Yemeni police arrested Karman in a main street in Sanaa as she headed home with her husband overnight, according to rights activists who declined to be named.
The reason for her arrest was unclear, but she is being held in Sanaa's main prison, according to her family.
A security official said the arrest stemmed from a warrant issued by prosecutors, without specifying why the warrant was issued.
"The detention of Karman is a criminal offence and an immoral act," Mohammed Qobati, a spokesman for Yemen's parliamentary opposition, said in a statement on Sunday.
Karman, a member of the central committee of the opposition Islamist Al-Islah (Reform) party, has been involved in Sanaa demonstrations in support of a popular revolt in Tunisia which led to the ousting of president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
The Sanaa protests were also marked by calls for political change in Yemen while there were more calls for change by dozens of students protesting outside Sanaa University on Sunday. Witnesses said clashes broke out as security forces tried to disperse the students.
A cameraman for Al-Arabiya satellite channel who was filming the clashes was briefly detained, his station said.
And a cameraman for Al-Jazeera was beaten by police, the Qatar-based station said.
Earlier report adds: : Nearly one thousand Yemeni protesters gathered inside and outside Sanaa University in the capital to call for a "Jasmine revolution" against their president who has been in power for 32 years.
The demonstrators, including students and opposition activists, chanted slogans, demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The growing popular protests have taken place in major Yemeni cities for seven days since the Tunisians overthrew their president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. "Oh Ali, join your friend Ben Ali," the crowds chanted.