Yemeni Monitor/Newsroom
On Tuesday evening, activists and human rights organizations launched a solidarity campaign for journalist Ahmed Maher, who has been imprisoned in jails run by the UAE-backed STC in the temporary capital, Aden, for two years.
Social media platforms witnessed an electronic campaign in solidarity with Maher, coinciding with the second anniversary of his arrest and the condemnation of the unjust verdict issued against him by the Specialized Criminal Court for “terrorism” cases, which is under the control of the STC. The verdict sentences him to four years in prison, after nearly two years of kidnapping and postponed court sessions.
In August 6, 2022, elements affiliated with the STC kidnapped journalist Ahmed Maher from his mother’s home in Dar Saad district of Aden Governorate, forcibly disappeared him for several months, subjected him to psychological and physical torture, and leveled false accusations against him.
On September 5, 2022, media outlets affiliated with the STC published a video showing Ahmed Maher forced to make fabricated confessions, with signs of torture evident on him.
Amnesty International called on the STC militia to immediately release journalist Ahmed Maher, quash his conviction and the sentence issued against him after an “unfair trial.”
The organization said that during his two years of detention, Maher was subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, deprived of access to a lawyer and medical treatment.
The organization “Journalists Without Borders” condemned the verdict against journalist Ahmed Maher, stating that the verdict reflects the excessive hostility of the STC militia towards freedom of the press and media work.
The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate condemned the exceptional punitive measures in Ahmed Maher’s case and renewed its calls for the annulment of the verdict against him, his immediate release, and a fair investigation into all the violations he has suffered.
The Syndicate stated that journalist Ahmed Maher has been detained for two years by the STC militia and has been subjected to a terrifying series of violations over the past two years, starting with his kidnapping, disappearance, and torture, until a unjust verdict was issued against him.
The Syndicate explained that this systematic arbitrariness, which forced him to confess under torture and coercion to acts he did not commit, leading to his deprivation of his right to a fair trial, has disrupted legal procedures and kept the colleague in detention in violation of the law, exacerbating his suffering and that of his family.
The Syndicate denounced the absence of the minimum standards of a fair trial, renewing its calls for his immediate release and the punishment of all those behind this arbitrariness.
The Syndicate held the STC militia controlling Aden Governorate fully responsible for the intimidation faced by journalist Ahmed Maher, which is considered a message of intimidation to all journalists.
