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Yemen: Information on the current status of members of the MOWJ and of the League of the Sons of Yemen Party, on the arrests after the 1997 elections and whether the individuals arrested have been released

Information on the status of the National Opposition Front (MOWJ) can be found in Responses to Information Request YEM23999.E of 4 June 1996 and YEM24403.E of 12 June 1996, available at Regional Documentation Centres. More recent information on the current status of MOWJ members could not be found in the sources consulted by the Ressearch Directorate

Agence France Presse reports that the League of the Sons of Yemen claimed that its Aden offices were shut down on 16 April 1997, its belongings confiscated  and four of its leaders questioned by the authorities (18 Apr. 1997). Yemen's legislative elections were scheduled for 27 April 1997 (ibid.). The article describes the League of the Sons of Yemen as a "small secular group which is boycotting the polls along with other opposition parties" (ibid.). This information is corroborated in a article published in Yemen's Al-Ayyam on 23 April 1997 which reports that

according to a statement issued by the League of the Sons of Yemen Party (Rabita)... upon orders by the general prosecutor, the "Rabita" offices were locked and sealed with wax. Sources at the Ministry of Interior, on the other hand, indicated that one "Rabita" member was arrested while distributing leaflets printed abroad; calling for boycotting the elections and other acts of civil disobedience. The ministry has denied arresting any other "Rabita" members (Middle East News Items,18 May 1997).

The Guardian reports that "more than 50 opponents of the Yemeni government  have been arrested in raids in southern provinces. A spokesman for the national opposition front, Mowj, said it was the biggest wave of political arrests since 1994" (2 Aug. 1997).

The attached BBC Summary of World Broadcasts article, citing information from the 8 August 1997 edition of the London-based newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat, states that 33 leaders of the League of the Sons of Yemen were arrested as part of the security services' "campaigns to arrest league members" (BBC 11 Aug. 1997).

Agence France-Presse reports that "Yemen's opposition-in-exile said [on 9 August 1997] that 71 people, mostly opposition figures, have been arrested in southern Yemen in a government campaign of 'repression' on trumped-up charges" (9 Aug. 1997). The article cites the London-based National Opposition Front as stating that "the wave of  arrests began on July 29 and concerned mainly members of the opposition Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP) and the Leagues of the Sons of Yeen [sic]" (ibid.).

The attached Agence France-Presse article reports that "several thousand people staged a peaceful march in southern Yemen town late Wednesday [10 Sept. 1997] in protest at recents arrests of opposition members in the region" (11 Sept. 1997). The article also mentions that "on August 31 [1997], the authorities said they had freed 120 people suspected of being involved" in bomb attacks in Aden (ibid.).

An Agence France Presse article reports, citing the coordination committee for the opposition in Hadramaut, that "Yemeni authorities arrested 11 opposition members Wednesday [12 November 1997] in the southern province of Hadramaut" (12 Nov. 1997). According to this committee, "six of those arrested belong to the Yemen Socialist Party (YSP), three to the League of the Sons of Yemen (LSY), one to the Union of Popular Forces (UPF), and one to the Yemeni Unionist Rally Party" (ibid.).

An Agence France Presse article also reports that "Yemeni authorities on Wednesday [17 Dec. 1997] released 13 opposition members held for the last month, some of whom were on hunger strike" (17 Dec. 1997). The article mentions that "they were arrested on 12 November 1997 on suspicion of causing unrest in the southern port city of Mukalla" (ibid.). It adds that "some of the accused—mostly senior members of the League of the Sons of Yemen and the Yemen Socialist Party—had gone on hunger strike in protest at their detention" (ibid.).

Information on the current status of members of the MOWJ and the League of the Sons of Yemen could not be found among sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

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

Agence France Presse. 18 April 1997. "Government Closes Party Office Ahead of Polls: Yemeni Opposition." (NEXIS)

_____. 11 September 1997. "Thousands March Against Arrests in South Yemen."

_____. 12 November 1997. "Yemeni Opposition Says 11 Members Arrested."

_____. 17 December 1997. "Yemen Releases 13 Opposition Members After Hunger Strike."

BBC Summary of World Broadcasts [London]. 11 August 1997. "League of Sons of Yemen Says 33 of Its Leaders Arrested." (NEXIS)

The Guardian [London]. 2 August 1997. "News in Brief: Yemeni Arrests." (NEXIS)

Middle East News Items. 18 May 1997. "Rabita Condemns Harassment Campaign." (NEXIS)

Attachments

Agence France Presse. 11 September 1997. "Thousands March Against Arrests in South Yemen."

BBC Summary of World Broadcasts [London]. 11 August 1997. "League of Sons of Yemen Says 33 of Its Leaders Arrested." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

Arabies [Paris]. 1997-1998

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports.

Jeune Afrique [Paris]. 1997-1998.

Middle East International [London]. 1997-1998.

Middle East Report [Washington]. 1997-1998.

News From Middle East Watch [New York]. 1997-1998.

On-line searches for news articles.

One oral source could not be reached for this Response to Information Request.

Topics: Prosecution, Terrorism,