Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani sentenced to six years

Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani, a veteran journalist and one of Yemen’s most prominent democracy advocates, has been sentenced to six years in jail with hard labour for supporting an alleged terrorist group. He spoke with Amnesty shortly before he was imprisoned,

“The authorities in Yemen are trying to silence me and they even appear to be prepared to lock me up to keep me quiet. I definitely don’t want to go to prison again just for doing my job as a journalist, but at the same time I’m not prepared to censor myself for an easy life.” link

Al-Khaiwani is one of two journalists shortlisted for the 2008 ‘Special Award For Human Rights Journalism Under Threat’ announced earlier this month.