On 19 November 2013, Ala’a Al- Khaiwani, the daughter of journalist and human rights defender, Abdulkarim Al- Khaiwani, was subjected to a suspicious run over accident by a motorcycle. The accident resulted in a head injury leading to internal bleeding. She was transferred to the emergency department at the University Hospital of Science and Technology in Sana’a.

Ala’a Al-Khaiwani is a student in the Department of Journalism at the University of Sana’a. At the time of the accident she was with a group of her colleagues trying to enter the campus with their car but were denied by the campus security officers who claimed that cars and bikes are prohibited from entering the premises. However, the driver of the motorcycle involved in the accident was allowed access into the campus despite not having an entry permit.

The suspicious accident comes at a time when victim’s father Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani is still receiving continual threats through phone calls from local and international numbers. These threats are believed to be related to his writings against corruption in addition to his defense of civil and political rights of all the people of Yemen. His human rights work in Yemen has led to his persecution by the authorities including being subjected to imprisonment, torture and harassment.

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) believes that the on-going threats received by Abdulkarim Al- Khaiwani and the targeting of his daughter are related to his legitimate and peaceful work in the field of journalism and human rights in Yemen, and in particular his work against corruption and the documentation of gross violations of human rights. The GCHR believes that the suspicious run over accident to which Ala’a Al-Khaiwni was subjected carries the features of a deliberate attempt to punish her as a result of her father’s human rights work.

The GCHR Calls on the Yemeni government to:

1. Carry out an immediate, impartial and thorough investigation into the run over accident,  which Ala’a Al-Khaiwani subjected to with a view to publishing the results and bringing those responsible to justice in line with local laws and international standards;

1. Take all the measure to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity and security of Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani;
2. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders and journalists in Yemen are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free from all restrictions including judicial harassment.

The GCHR respectfully reminds you that the United Nations Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted by consensus by the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1998, recognizes the legitimacy of the activities of human rights defenders, their right to freedom of association and to carry out their activities without fear of reprisals. We would particularly draw your attention to article 5 (a): “For the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at the national and international levels to meet or assemble peacefully”, and to  Article 12.2, which provides 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.”