WarCriminalsWatch Events

The U.S. government describes Yemen as "an important partner in the global war on
terrorism" while at the same time characterizing it as an Al-Qaida stronghold. The
Yemeni government has taken advantage of the U.S. partnership and increasing
military aid to justify its domestic "anti-terror campaigns" which have resulted in
egregious human rights violations, including mass arrests, illegal abductions,
enforced disappearances, torture, and killings. The victims of this violence are not
only alleged militants and their families, but Yemeni dissidents and journalists
critical of their government. The "war on terror" has served as a cover for the
Yemeni state to increase repression and militarization in response to its own
internal political crises -- all with the tacit approval of the international
community.

Visiting Yemeni human rights activists will discuss what they are doing to resist
this mounting repression and to create a meaningfully democratic and peaceful
future. Learn about the political climate in Yemen, and together think through what
ethical solidarity with Yemeni people might look like. Also hear from a CCR lawyer
who is trying to stop a "targeted killing" by the United States in Yemen and who
represents men detained at Guantánamo -- where Yemeni men constitute the largest
group of remaining prisoners, all declared by the Obama administration to be
indefinitely detainable without charge based solely on their nationality.

Developing an understanding of this political reality is crucial to ending the U.S.
government's complicity in more human rights abuses, and to stopping the creation of
a boundless war without end that threatens our collective safety.

List of Panelists: 
Tawakkol Karman is chairwoman of the Yemeni non-government organization Women
Journalists Without Chains [ http://www.womenpress.net/index.php?lng=english ],
which campaigns for freedom of the press in Yemen and against human rights
violations. She is a very prominent young activist, and Reporters Without Borders
chose her in 2009 as one of the top seven women who have led change in the world.
Karman is among the activists who in 2007 launched the "Phase of Protests and
Sit-ins" in Yemen, holding regular sit-ins in the capital's Freedom Square to
demand democratic reforms and an end to human rights violations -- including the
harassment and imprisonment of journalists and dissidents, closure of critical
newspapers, and censorship of news articles. She is one of only 13 women on the
legislative Shura Council of the Yemeni Congregation for Reform (Islah), the
leading opposition party. Her outspoken condemnation of the government's human
rights abuses has inspired scores of other women activists to similarly resist
injustice. Karman has helped write numerous reports on freedom of expression,
corruption, extremism, and violent repression of dissidents in Yemen, and has
called for political reform and dialogue.
Ezz-Adeen Saeed Ahmed Al-Asbahi is the president of Human Rights Information &
Training Center (HRITC), a non-governmental organization which seeks to enhance
human rights in Yemen and the Arab World, focusing on the Gulf States in
particular. HRITC has consultative status with the United Nations, offers training
courses and forums on human rights, publishes a quarterly human rights magazine
called "Our Rights", and has published 30 books on law and human rights. Al-Asbahi
is also the coordinator of a large regional network of human rights activists in
the Gulf States and the Peninsula, and the president of a Yemeni network of human
rights organizations which includes six Yemeni NGOs. A journalist and researcher,
he has published eight books on literature and human rights. He is also the head
of the civil society sector of the Supreme National Authority to Combat
Corruption.
Pardiss Kebriaei is a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights [
http://www.ccrjustice.org/ ] (CCR) in New York City. She joined the Guantánamo
Global Justice Initiative at CCR in July 2007, and provides direct representation
to several of CCR's clients at Guantánamo. She is also working on a lawsuit to
challenge a U.S. government kill-list and the targeting of a U.S. citizen now in
Yemen and far from any armed conflict with the United States.
  * *Leili Kashani* (moderator and discussant): is the Education and Outreach
Associate for the Guantánamo Global Justice Initiative at the Center for
Constitutional Rights [ http://www.ccrjustice.org/ ] (CCR) in New York City. She
advocates for a just closure of the prison at Guantánamo, resettlement for the men
still detained, and against illegal detentions more broadly. She has written about
and advocated against the Obama administration's policy of indefinitely detaining
all the Yemeni men who remain in Guantánamo.

This event is co-sponsored by the Center for Constitutional Rights, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
and the Brecht Forum.