Yemen, US adds NDC member to ‘global terrorist’ list

Yemen, US adds NDC member to ‘global terrorist’ list

 Il Dipartimento del Tesoro degli Stati Uniti ha inserito il nome di Abdulwahab Al-Humaiqaniil, membro del  National Dialogue Conference (NDC), nella lista dei terroristi. Al-Humaiqani è anche segretario generale di Al-Rashad Union, un partito politico salafita che è stato riconosciuto dal governo yemenita nel giugno 2012.

The party asked, in a statement released on Friday, that the U.S. administration remove Al-Humaiqani from its list of persons receiving sanctions for allegedly funding the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda. The party also says it will take legal action against the U.S. for financial and mental harm suffered by Al-Humaiqani as a result of the allegations. “The government of Yemen must defend its citizens,” the statement also read.  The U.S. Treasury Department accuses Al-Humaiqani of “using his position as head of a Yemen-based charity to raise money, [some of which has been] sent to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.”The U.S. also accuses him of “facilitating financial transfers from Al-Qaeda supporters in Saudi Arabia to Yemen.” None of the alleged Saudi Al-Qaeda supporters have been named or added to the Treasury Department’s list.  According to the Treasury Department, being placed on the “global terrorist” list freezes any assets one might have [in the United States] and bars American citizens from conducting any business with the accused.  Neither the Yemeni government nor the NDC administration has announced an official position on the allegations. The Al-Rashad Union has growing political clout in Yemen. “Representatives of the Al-Rashad Union have been active participants in the NDC and their attendance might even be as high as 100 percent,” said Yasser Al-Ruaini, the deputy secretary general of the conference.  According to him, the party holds seven of the 565 seats at the conference. Members of the party say they were shocked by the recent sanctions. “The U.S. labels anyone who does not support its policy a ‘terrorist,’” said Ibrahim Al-Ahmadi, a member of the Al-Rashad Union’s Supreme Committee.  He said that the U.S. had, in the past, enlisted Al-Humaiqani to document civilian deaths in drone strikes in Yemen, as he also works for AlKarama, an NGO headquartered in Geneva that monitors human rights abuses. Al-Humaiqani is a cofounder of the international organization and the head of the Yemeni branch. According to Al-Ahmadi, the U.S. neither notified Al-Humaiqani nor contacted him before taking action against him. “The U.S. does not provide evidence to justify adding anyone to this list, and anyone can easily be blacklisted,” said Abdurrahman Barman, a lawyer at the National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms, known as HOOD. Barman believes that the U.S. has sanctioned Al-Humaiqani for “defending human rights and exposing American crimes taking place in Yemen through the use of drones.”

Source Yemen Times