A judge shouts: We die and what is permitted has become forbidden to us

Yemen

Yamanat

Judge Nabil Al-Maqtari*

To the Supreme Judicial Council.
At the Yemeni Judges Club.
At the Southern Judges Club
To all the judges…

How can we prevent a judge from drafting conclusions, marriage contracts, arbitrations, reconciliations, commercial exchanges, participating in seminars and workshops and appearing in the media…?
How can a judge even be denied medical compensation?
He is required to live on his salary, which must cover:

Rent of apartments: not less than 150 thousand Yemeni riyals, knowing that rents in Saudi Arabia are not less than 300 to 400 Saudi riyals at least.

Transport to work: no less than 4,000 riyals per day, while cars require a minimum of 10,000 riyals per day.

Living for 6 people: Three main meals, costing no less than 10,000 riyals per day.

Electricity bill: The commercial unit is 1000 riyals, with a minimum of 10 units per week.

Liters of water: 6,000 liters per month, at a cost of no less than 33,000 riyals.

Study fees: School and university fees are not less than 3,000 riyals per day, excluding the cost of books and notebooks.

Clothes and shoes, shaving, Friday expenses, receiving guests: without forgetting illness, holidays, Ramadan, the honor of parents, sweets, the daily desires of children and drinking water.

Domestic gas: In addition to repairing damaged tools, visiting loved ones and sharing their joys and sorrows. Diapers for babies and women, bath and wash items, etc.

As for khat, fruits, meat, chicken, fish, nuts, honey and canned goods, it is not necessary to count them; Let’s just talk about the basics.

The highest salary of a judge – excluding judges working in the Judicial Council and higher judicial bodies – today is around 500,000 Yemeni riyals, which is equivalent to 830 Saudi riyals.
The lowest salary is equivalent to 415 Saudi riyals, while the administrative employee receives around half of this salary.

I don’t know, will this post be considered in violation of the publication ban?

We are dying, and what is permitted has become forbidden to judges, and even the salary becomes more like what is forbidden. He does not become rich or fattened by hunger.

The Judicial Council and the higher judicial authorities are completely disconnected from our reality, since their salaries, allowances, operating expenses and incidentals that they receive cover the subsistence of 5 families of at least 10 people.

I challenge them to publish their payroll and financial allocations! Or special committee allocations, duplication of more than one position, etc.

We are tired, and the spokesperson for the Judicial Council says: Nothing other than his salary is allowed to go into the judge’s pocket, and we will hold the corrupt to account.

Our venerable judges, we appeal to you by God to save the judicial system from corruption, which is difficult for you and for those who come after you to fight.
All doors have been closed, leaving only Satan’s door open.

You have the solutions in hand. The one who was able to close the door of the judiciary for more than a year in the name of the rights of judges, the improvement of their lives and the fight against corruption, nepotism and transparency, is today the one who holds the decision-making power within the Supreme Judicial Council.
Their livelihoods have only improved, while the suffering of judges on the ground has increased exponentially.

Were the demands, struggle, strike and overthrow of the previous council intended for the good of 10 or fewer judges, or for the good of all judges?

The solutions are numerous; If you ask me about this, I will tell you: go back to your previous struggle agenda, the one whose headlines were arrows pointed at the previous council, and you will find solutions there.

We are tired… we are tired.
I swear to God my colleagues couldn’t find the price of domestic gas and replaced it with firewood and climbed on the roofs of houses.

I say to every judge who feels poverty and need:
Do not make corruption a permissible necessity.
The permissible necessity is that you accept arbitration, write down ideas, practice other permitted work, participate in seminars, workshops and media, register with relief and livelihood organizations, and occupy your sons and daughters with work that is not corrupt, in a manner that does not diminish your capacity as a judge as much as possible.

This is a permissible necessity, unless you have to.

I say to the Supreme Judicial Council:

If you have prevented humans from censoring or criticizing you and have hidden from us what should be revealed, then that is your authority as humans over humans.
But God’s control and authority over you will not prevent it; He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. Nothing is hidden from Him, nothing is hidden from Him, and He knows what souls whisper.

I hope we don’t find ourselves held accountable for the permissible things we were forced to do.

Hold yourself accountable before calling us to account.
If it lasts for others, it will not reach you.

He who remains silent about the truth is a mute devil. How can a judge who does not have enough food draw his sword, and how can he give others rights that he has not been able to take away?

God is sufficient for us and He is the best arbiter of affairs.

* Member of the Taiz Appeals Prosecutor’s Office
Member of the administrative body of the Yemeni Judges Club – Taiz branch

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