Yemen frees pro-Tunisia uprising journalist

Tawakel Karman granted parole with commitment from her family she will no longer offend public order, law.

Middle East Online

Karman was involved in support protests for Tunisia's uprising SANAA - Yemen granted parole on Monday to a female political activist and journalist detained over the weekend on charges of inciting disorder, a judicial source said. Tawakel Karman was "released with a commitment from her family that she will no longer offend public order and law," the judicial source said on condition of anonymity. Karman, who was involved in support protests for Tunisia's uprising at which calls were raised for political change in Yemen, heads a rights group, Women Journalists Without Chains. Yemeni police arrested Karman in a main street of Sanaa as she headed home with her husband late on Saturday, according to rights activists. She was accused of organising "unauthorised gatherings and marches and inciting riots and disorder," the defence ministry's news website 26sep.net reported. Mohammed Qobati, a spokesman for Yemen's parliamentary opposition, on Sunday described Karman's arrest as "a criminal offence and an immoral act." Karman, a senior member of the opposition Islamist Al-Islah (Reform) party, has been involved in Sanaa demonstrations in support of the revolt in Tunisia that ousted its leader, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Around 200 journalists marched in Sanaa on Sunday to demand the release of Karman and other detainees, and her arrest was condemned by both Yemeni and international rights groups. On Saturday, hundreds of Sanaa University students held rival demonstrations on campus, for and against Yemen's veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power for decades and was re-elected in September 2006. A draft amendment of the Yemeni constitution, under discussion in parliament despite opposition protests, could further stretch his tenure by allowing a life-long mandate.