Yemen: Information on the freedom of political expression in the media and and in the academic field

The following information was provided during a 4 December 1997 telephone interview with the Assistant Director and specialist on Yemen at L'Institut de recherches et d'études sur le monde arabe et musulman (IREMAM) in Aix-en-Provence, France. The Assistant Director travels regularly to Yemen.

The Assistant Director stated that before 1990 there was almost no political freedom in the media. For the period of 1990-1994, there was a total freedom of political expression in the media and the academic field, although to a lesser extent for the national television station. Since 1994 the freedom of political opinion in the media and in the academic field is under surveillance with regard to certain subjects such as direct criticism of the president.

The Assistant Director stated that there are subjects that should not be tackled by journalists or academics such as directly attacking the President, the "excessive" use of qat (a local plant that produces a mild elation), corruption in the high level of government and secular-Muslim relations.

The following information was provided during a 11 December 1997 telephone interview with an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Vermont, Burlington who specializes in Yemeni domestic and foreign policy and who published several articles on Yemen.

The assistant professor stated that freedom of political expression in Yemen is relatively free. He added that Yemeni intellectuals can criticise the government over policies and their implementation, but cannot directly criticise the President. There have been cases of intellectuals being mistreated by the security forces but it is a systematic practice since these represent around ten cases.

The following information was provided during a 9 December 1997 telephone interview with a professor at the Department of Political Science, University of New Hampshire, Durham, who is a specialist on the democratic process in Yemen and a member of the American Institute for Yemeni Studies. The professor, who travel to Yemen regularly, has published articles on Yemen in several publications such as Arab Studies Quarterly.

The professor stated that there is a fair degree of freedom in the media and the academic field in Yemen. For example, the opposition publishes material in Yemen which is critical of the government. There was instances approximately a dozen journalists who were ill-treated by the authorities.

The following information was provided during a 12 December 1997 telephone interview with a professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Washington in Seattle, who is a specialist in Yemeni internal politics and who has published several articles and books on Yemen. The professor, who travels regularly in Yemen, is  the current president of the American Institute of Yemeni Studies.

The professor stated that since 1994, no more than a dozen intellectuals have experienced ill-treatment at the hand of the authorities but these cases do not represent a systematic policy of repression. There are issues that are sensitive for the media and academics such as direct criticism of the president, the implementation of the unification process and the 1994 war. However, the professor added that no one in the media and the academic field would be foolish enough to tackle these issues in public. Although most journalists and academics practise self-censorship with regard to these issues, they still have the freedom to criticise the government and its policies.

For additional information on this subject, please consult the following documents available at your regional Documentation Centre: Amnesty International's 31 March 1997 report entitled Yemen: Government Fails to Deliver on Paper Promises on Human Rights, Human Rights Watch World Report, 1997 and the U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1996 and particularly its chapter on freedom of speech and the press in Yemen.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Assistant-Director, Institut d'études et de recherches sur le monde arabe et musulman (IREMAM), Aix-en-Provence, France. 4 December 1997. Telephone interview.

Assistant-Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Vermont, Burlington. 11 December 1997. Telephone interview.

Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Washington, Seattle. 12 December 1997. Telephone interview.

Professor, Department of Political Science, University of New Hampshire, Duhram. 9 December 1997. Telephone interview.

Attachments

Agence France Press (AFP). 5 August 1997. "Press Freedom Group Condemns Arrest of Journalists in Yemen." (NEXIS)

_____. 28 May 1997. "Journalists' Group Protests Against Yemeni Flogging Sentences." (NEXIS)

_____. 10 January 1996. "Yemeni Journalists Struggle to Enjoy New Freedom." (NEXIS)

_____. 4 April 1995. "Two Yemeni Opposition Newspapers Stop Publishing." (NEXIS)

Associated Press (AP). 25 November 1997. "Press Watchdog Slams Yemen for Curtailing Press Freedoms." (NEXIS)

_____. 1 June 1997. "Union to Help Journalists Appeal Sentence of 80 Lashes." (NEXIS)

Reuters. 27 May 1997. "Yemen Court Orders Flogging of Two Journalists." (NEXIS)