Incommunicado detention of Mr. Ali Al-Dailami

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Yemen.

Brief description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by several reliable sources, including the Palestinian NGO Al-Haq, the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR), and the Human Rights Centre for the Assistance of Prisoners (HRCAP), about the arbitrary detention of Mr. Ali Al-Dailami, Executive Director of the Yemeni Organisation for the Defence of Human Rights and Democratic Freedoms.

According to the information received, on October 9, 2006, Mr. Ali Al-Dailami was arbitrarily arrested at the airport of Sana’a, the capital, by the Yemeni security forces, while he was heading to Copenhagen (Denmark), in order to participate in a conference organised by the Danish Institute for Human Rights about its programme of cooperation with some Yemeni NGOs.

As of the date of issuing this urgent appeal, Mr. Al-Dailami remains detained incommunicado, the political security forces (al-Amn al-Seyasi) refusing to say where he is detained and the reasons for his arrest.

The Observatory strongly condemns the incommunicado detention of Mr. Al-Dailami, and expresses its deep concern about his physical and psychological integrity, fearing that Mr. Al-Dailami may be at risk of torture and ill-treatment.

Actions required:

Please write to the Yemeni authorities urging them to:

1. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Ali Al-Dailami, and in particular ensure that he be not subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment during his detention;
2. Provide, with the greatest celerity, information on his whereabouts as well as on his conditions of detention;
3. Order the immediate and unconditional release of Mr Ali Al-Dailami in the absence of any valid charges against them, or in the case of valid charges against them, bring them before an impartial tribunal without delay and guarantee procedural rights at all times, ensuring, among others, that they have access to legal advice;
4. Put an end to any kind of harassment against all Yemeni human rights defenders;
5. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, “to communicate with non-governmental or intergovernmental organisations” (article 5c), and article 12.2, which states that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
6. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the Republic of Yemen.

Addresses:

• General Ali Abdullah Saleh, President of the Republic of Yemen, Sana’a, Yemen. Fax: + 967 127 4147
• Ambassador, Mr. Farag Saeed Bin Ghanem, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Yemen to the United Nations in Geneva, 19 Chemin du Jonc, 1216 Cointrin, Switzerland, Tel: +41 22 799 05 10. Fax: +41 22 798 04 65, E-mail: mission.yemen@ties.itu.int
• Ambassador, Dr. Hamid GAAFER, Embassy of the Republic of Yemen in Brussels 114 av. F.D. Roosevelt, 1050 Ixelles, Belgium. Tel: + 32 2.646.52.90, Fax : + 32 2.646.29.11, Email : yemen@skynet.be

Please also write to the diplomatic representations of the Republic of Yemen in your respective countries.

***

Geneva-Paris, October 30, 2006

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail : Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel et fax FIDH : + 33 1 43 55 55 05 / 33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel et fax OMCT : +41 22 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29