Yesterday afternoon, on 23 July 2013, around 5 pm local time, Yemeni investigative journalist Abdulillah Haydar Shaye was released from the Political Security Prison in Sanaa following a presidential amnesty. Detained arbitrarily for 3 years, he was subjected to torture, mistreatments and an unfair trial. Our representative reports that he was freed on the condition that he stay within the country under house arrest for two years.

 

Despite significant undertakings by several ministries in Yemen, a number of serious human rights violations continue in the country, Alkarama's most recent report on Yemen said. Submitted to the United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights earlier this month, in view of Yemen's second Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council, the report highlighted Alkarama's main concerns – namely impunity, extrajudicial executions in the context of counter-terrorism operations, especially through the use of U.S. drones, use of torture and terrible prison conditions as well as arbitrary detentions, the failures of the justice system, as well as attacks on freedom of expression, namely the harassment of journalists.