Fake gold, sometimes preferable to the real stuff
Decree establishes committee to investigate human rights violations
The new committee will investigate human rights violations that occurred during the political uprising.
Shihab Al-Masri, a revolutionary youth, said Hadi’s decree aimed to wrap up the issue of human rights violations entirely and to simply calm the youth.
He said whoever is directly responsible for last year’s crimes and human rights violations will be prosecuted, but those in the background who arranges for the acts will not be prosecuted.
“We don’t want to prosecute those who committed crimes only but also whoever incited them to do so,” Al-Masri said.
Al-Masri said the Transitional Justice Law must include all classes of society; otherwise, revenge will be the only way to right the wrongs.
President Hadi issued a decree Saturday night establishing a committee to investigate human rights violations during the 2011 uprising, which eventually led to the ousting of then-President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The decree restricted the work of the committee to investigating 2011 only, beginning in January 2011 and ending Dec. 31.
The decree put conditions on candidates for committee membership. Conditions include issues such as not being linked to any authorities, organizations or people alleged to be charged with violations of competence and integrity.
The decree grants automatic immunity from legal prosecution to committee members, technical employees, administrators and experts who help the committee.
The decree indicated that this committee isn’t an alternative to any other committees established within the Transitional Justice Law and will be included among the committees of Equity and Reconciliation Authority.
Thousands died and thousands of others were injured in 2011 at the hands of pro-Saleh forces quelling the mostly peaceful youth who demanded the toppling Saleh’s regime.
Adnan Al-Raghi, a media activist, said Hadi has established several committees to investigate problems in Yemen, but they were of no use.
“The decree is positive, but the problem is that it didn’t specify the bodies who committed violations last year, which indicates that many people who committed violations won’t be prosecuted because those violations were hidden,” Al-Raghi said.
