Yemeni journalist, jailed for drone report, freed

Democracy Now! in the USA writes about this series of two videos:

Yemeni Reporter Who Exposed U.S. Drone Strike Freed from Prison After Jailing at Obama’s Request

Prominent Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye has been released from prison after being held for three years on terrorism-related charges at the request of President Obama. Shaye helped expose the U.S. cruise missile attack on the Yemeni village of al-Majalah that killed 41 people, including 14 women and 21 children in December 2009.

Then-Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced his intention to pardon Shaye in 2011, but apparently changed his mind after a phone call from Obama. In a statement, the White House now says it is “concerned and disappointed” by Shaye’s release.

“We should let that statement set in: The White House is saying that they are disappointed and concerned that a Yemeni journalist has been released from a Yemeni prison,” says Jeremy Scahill, national security correspondent for The Nation, who covers Shaye’s case in “Dirty Wars,” his new book and film by the same name. “This is a man who was put in prison because he had the audacity to expose a U.S. cruise missile attack that killed three dozen women and children.”

We’re also joined by Rooj Alwazir, a Yemeni-American activist who co-founded the Support Yemen media collective and campaigned for Shaye’s release.

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

Letter to Obama and Hadi on Yemeni drones: here.

US drones have been attacking targets in Yemen almost every day since intensified operations began on July 27: here.

The Drone Gender Gap: Big Differences in How Men and Women View Strikes: here.

Related articles

• Obama ‘Concerned and Disappointed’ After Journalist Who Exposed US War Crimes Freed (commondreams.org)
• Yemeni journalist who reported US missile strike is released from jail (guardian.co.uk)
• Yemeni journalist imprisoned on pressure from Obama freed (rt.com)
• Yemeni journalist who reported U.S. drone strike released from jail (rawstory.com)
• Yemeni Reporter Who Exposed U.S. Drone Strike Freed from Prison After Jailing at Obama’s Request (crooksandliars.com)