MDE 31/018/2005
Further Information on UA 173/05 (MDE 31/010/2005, 23 June 2005) -
31 October 2005
The health of 14-year-old Ibrahim al-Saiani is reported to have deteriorated in custody : he has begun to lose his memory, his hands tremble and he is unable to speak clearly. Ibrahim al-Saiani’s family were first allowed to visit him in prison in August, and are now allowed weekly visits. However he remains detained without charge or trial and without access to legal counsel.
Amnesty International highlighted its concerns to the Yemeni authorities regarding during a mission to Yemen in September-October 2005, and sought assurances that Ibrahim al-Saiani was being given adequate medical attention. The Yemeni authorities were not able to confirm that he was receiving treatment. Amnesty International sought to visit Ibrahim al-Saiani at the Political Security (al- Amn al- Seyasi) prison in Sana’a but were not able to do so.
Ibrahim al-Saiani was reportedly arrested on 8 May after the security forces stormed his family home in the capital, Sana’a. He is held in the Political Security prison in Sana’a and may be a prisoner of conscience, held solely because he is one of the Zaidi community. Followers of Zaidi cleric Hussain Badr al-Din al-Huthi have shouted anti-American and anti-Israeli slogans after Friday prayers since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, and this has led to a crackdown by the security forces in which hundreds of Zaidis are reported to have been arrested. President ¥Ali ¥Abdullah Saleh issued a pardon for followers of al-Huthi on 25 September, but hundreds of Zaidis remain detained witho ut charge or trial.
A number of non-governmental organizations, and his family, are reported to have urged the President of Yemen to intervene in this case.
RECOMMENDED ACTION : Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Arabic or your own language :
calling on the authorities to ensure that Ibrahim al-Saiani is given immediate access to medical treatment, his family and legal assistance ;
calling on the authorities to ensure that Ibrahim al-Saiani is given access to lawyers is not tortured or ill-treated ;
reminding the authorities that Yemen is a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular Article 37 (b) which requires States Parties to ensure that « No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily » ;
calling for Ibrahim al-Saiani to be released immediately and unconditionally if he is held solely for the peaceful expression of his conscientiously held beliefs or for being a member of the Zaidi community.
APPEALS TO :
President
His Excellency General ¥Ali ¥Abdullah Saleh
President of the Republic of Yemen
Sana’a
Republic of Yemen
Fax : + 967 127 4147
Salutation : Your Excellency
Prime Minister
Abd al-Qader Bajamal
Prime Minister of the Republic of Yemen
Sana’a
Republic of Yemen
Fax : +967 1 274 662
Salutation : Your Excellency
Minister of Interior
Rashid Muhammad al-(Alimi
Ministry of Interior
Sana’a
Republic of Yemen
Fax : +967 1 332 511
Salutation : Your Excellency
Minister of Human Rights
Amat al Aeem al Suswah
Ministry for Human Rights
Sana’a, Republic of Yemen
Fax : +967 1 419 700
Salutation : Your Excellency
Ambassade de la République du Yemen
Ave F.D. Roosevelt 114
1050 Bruxelles
fax : 02/646 29 11
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 12 December 2005.
