Yemen Monitor/Newsroom:
Amnesty International said on Saturday that Yemeni journalist Ahmed Maher must be released after an appeals court acquitted him.
The organization said that on December 25, 2024, the Specialized Criminal Court of Appeal in Aden acquitted journalist Ahmed Maher. However, the Specialized Public Prosecution conditioned his release on the provision of a “commercial guarantee” by a guarantor, a condition that his family was unable to meet.
On May 28, 2024, the Specialized Criminal Court sentenced Ahmed Maher to four years in prison following an unfair trial on charges of spreading false and misleading news – a crime not recognized under international law – and forgery of identity documents. Ahmed Maher must be released immediately.
The organization said that all parties to the conflict in Yemen have committed serious human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and other ill-treatment, and unfair trials.
In November 2023, a UN Panel of Experts on Yemen reported that forces affiliated with the STC have detained, forcibly disappeared, or threatened journalists and activists who criticize them publicly and have forced them to sign or make “confessions”.
The panel also documented that forces affiliated with the STC systematically torture detainees in official and secret prisons.
