Alkarama for Human Rights, May 23, 2008

Alkarama sent on May 19, 2008 a communication to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention asking it to intervene in the case of Mr. Yahia Al-Shahrani, who was arrested and detained since August 15, 2007, without legal procedure, by the intelligence services (Al Amn Assiyassi) in Sanaa.

Mr. Adel Yahia Yahia AL-SHAHRANI was born in 1971 and lives in Sanaa. A graduate of the Faculty of Education Sana'a, he taught for several years before exercising the profession of a taxi driver.

Alkarama welcomes the observations of the Committee against Torture published on May 16, 2008. They largely reflect its own concerns about the situation of human rights in Algeria.

Alkarama for Human Rights, May 13, 2008

Alkarama wrote on May 9, 2008 to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention communication, asking it to intervene in the case of Mr. Al Hattar arrested on December 14, 2007 and held incommunicado for three months.

Mr. Abdeljalil Abdeladhim Ali AL-HATTAR was born in 1982 and lives in Sanaa where he holds the "Imam Al-Haramayn" position in the City of Al-Asbahi in the same city.

Alkarama for Human Rights, May 12, 2008

Alkarama asked, on May 8, 2008, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to intervene in the case of Mr. Samara, arbitrarily detained since July 17, 2007.

Mr. Marwan Abdel Rahman Ahmad SAMARA, Palestinian citizen, was born in 1984 and lives in Riyadh. He is married and father of a baby girl.

Alkarama for Human Rights, May 6, 2008

Representatives of Alkarama attended the periodic review of Algerian by the Committee against Torture (CAT) held on 2 and 5 May 2008. Our organization had submitted a few weeks earlier an alternative report to the Committee.

On 2 May 2008, Sami Al Hajj, a cameraman for Al Jazeera, was finally released. He was arrested on December 15, 2001, near the Pakistan border and detained at Guantanamo Bay. He was taken, handcuffed, in an American plane to Khartoum airport. He was handed over to the Sudanese authorities and was immediately transferred to the Amal hospital. He managed to give his first interview although he did look very weak.

The U.S.

Alkarama for Human Rights, April 29, 2008

Alkarama just learned that Fouad Al Farhan, who was arrested on December 10, 2007 and held incommunicado for nearly a month, was released on 26 April 2008.

Alkarama had alerted on 14 January 2008 Ms. Louise Arbour, High Commissioner for Human Rights, asking her to intervene with the Saudi authorities and had as well seized on 29 February 2008 the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention .