Al-Maqbi: The criminal investigation in Taiz is not interested in publishing and social media issues. This is not a crime scene
Yemen
Yamanat
Actions taken by the Taiz City Criminal Investigation Department against media and human rights activists have sparked a wave of anxiety and concern over respect for human rights, particularly with regard to freedom of opinion and expression and women’s rights.
Writer and human rights activist Ahmed Taha Al-Maqbi said that what is happening in Taiz in terms of summoning or detaining activists and journalists by the criminal investigation against the backdrop of publication cases represents unprecedented behavior in Yemeni governorates, stressing that “we have not heard that the criminal investigation in any other governorate has summoned or arrested a media or human rights activist in publication cases.”
He added on his Facebook account that “social networks are not a crime scene and there are no legal sanctions that criminalize their users for their opinions or publications”, calling on the Attorney General of Taiz to establish mechanisms to guarantee the protection of social network users against any arbitrary practice, whether they are media professionals, human rights activists or citizens.
Al-Maqiqi called on Attorney General Muhammad Sultan to urgently intervene and issue a circular requiring criminal investigations in Taiz not to take into account any complaints related to publication cases unless previously instructed by the chief prosecutor, emphasizing that social media sites have become surveillance, legal and intellectual platforms that should not be restricted.
He stressed that the prosecution of journalists and activists, as happened with journalist Wajdi Al-Salmi, or the imprisonment of activist Arwa Al-Shamiri for her re-publishing of a solidarity video, represent a blatant violation of freedom of expression and human rights.
He stressed that “the imprisonment of a woman without legal support or judicial decision is a provocation towards society and an attack on her dignity, and creates a state of societal tension”, adding that history proves that insults to women have been the cause of major transformations and conflicts throughout history, from the Rosa Parks incident in America to similar incidents in Arab history.
Al-Muqaqi warned that the Criminal Investigation Department’s actions against Al-Shamiri raise serious concerns about women’s rights in Yemen, particularly in light of the requirement for strict commercial safeguards for courtship and the denial of other safeguards, which can lead to the arbitrary detention of women in non-serious cases.
He said these practices reflect broader challenges within Yemen’s justice and legal system, calling for a review of laws and procedures to ensure their compatibility with international human rights standards and to ensure better legal protection for women and all individuals in society.
Yemen