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âIf we release those detainees, they may commit terrorismâ
Yemen's Police Security Office (PSO) Deputy Chief Brigadier General Rajeh Hunaish said on Thursday that the authorities do not want radical detainees to be freed because they may attempt to commit terrorist activities of bombing, murder, etc. When asked why are tens of detainees still imprisoned while they committed no illegal acts, Hunaish said that they are not released for fear that they could immediately plan to commit terrorist activities as they seem to be holding on tight to their 'radical views and beliefs' taught to them by radical scholars and groups. "We cannot release detainees in the time being. If we release those detainees, they may commit terrorism. I said before that there was a detainee who wanted to blow himself up. Those poor people have been brainwashed and may be truly dangerous if not rehabilitated."
| There's the conundrum for people who want to do the right thing: holding them without charges is bad, letting them run out and explode is worse. |
He spoke at the open discussion forum hosted by the Yemen Times in Sanaa and organized by the National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms (NODRF) in coordination with the Network for the Creative and Education in Human Rights. The event aimed at focusing on human rights violations reported in the latest Amnesty International report on Yemen, specifically concerning the illegal detention of hundreds of Yemenis thought to have radical views and ideas. Hunaish added that there may have been some mistakes made by the government, but those mistakes are innocent. "All those who belong to the PSO do respect the law and during this era, no detainee is ever tortured" he stressed. Hunaish, who headed the parliamentary committee to investigate the cases of detained Yemenis in the former parliament, said that the Amnesty International report does include objective criticism to the way the government dealt with the issue of detainees.
| Nor does it address the aims of the detainees. Humanitarian theory clashes with government responsibility toward its citizens... |
However, he also defended the government's actions in not releasing the detainees so that "nothing like that, which happened last week, would be repeated" hinting to the recent discoveries of a number of detonated car bombs set up for terrorist attacks somewhere in the country. "There are efforts to bring those detainees back to reality and divert them from the radical thoughts they have been brainwashed with," he said.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-10-13 |
