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<p
style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.4px;"><strong>Drone
attacks bring Yemeni government to brink of no confidence vote</strong><br>
<br>
Yemeni parliamentarians are today challenging the legitimacy of
President Hadi's government, following the administration's failure to
stop repeated US drone attacks.<br>
<br>
MPs are planning a vote of no confidence if President Hadi's ministers
do not attend parliament to answer questions on the drone program; some
are calling for an immediate dissolution of the government.<br>
<br>
The parliament’s attack on the Hadi administration follows a
particularly deadly drone strike on Al Bayda on April 19, in which
Reprieve has discovered that four builders were killed on their way to
work, leaving 20 children without fathers. The Yemeni government has
admitted that their killing was a mistake.<br>
<br>
The strike violated last December's parliamentary resolution banning
the use of drones on Yemeni territory. Yemeni lawmakers are furious
that the administration has repeatedly failed to enforce the ban, and
that President Hadi's Minister of Defence, Minister of the
Interior and Minister of Oil have refused to attend several
parliamentary meetings on the subject. <br>
<br>
<strong>Shawki al-Qadhi, an MP in the Yemeni parliament and a member of
the parliament’s Committee on Freedoms and Human Rights said: “</strong>How
can
we talk about the rule of law when another country kills our
citizens without charge or trial? How can we talk about governance when
Parliament's resolutions are ignored by the both the US and Yemeni
administrations? We Yemenis are the people who suffer most from the
unrest in our country, and as we have heard recently, the majority of
people causing the unrest are foreigners who come from outside Yemen.
We would obviously welcome external help in dealing with the problem,
but only if Yemen has clear agreements and control over what takes
place. As MPs we have a responsibility to protect our constituents and
to uphold the values of our country. Drones undermine both. Our
citizens are less safe with drones in the air-- not only are they
vulnerable to mistaken targeting but we have seen time and time again
that when civilians are killed, it immediately swells the ranks of the
armed groups. We even lack a clear law about compensating the families
of the victims, which is something we urgently need. Drones are
undermining our nascent democratic institutions.”</p>
<p
style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.4px;">ENDS</p>
<br>
Notes to editors<br>
<br>
1. For further information, please contact <a
href="mailto:katherine.oshea@reprieve.org"
style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;"
target="_blank">katherine.oshea@reprieve.org</a> / <a
href="tel:%2B1%20917%20855%208064"
style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;"
target="_blank" value="+19178558064">+1 917 855 8064</a>.<br>
<br>
2. Yemeni MP Shawki al-Qadhi, quoted above, is an MP in the Yemeni
parliament, and a member of the parliament’s Committee on Freedoms and
Human Rights. To arrange an interview, please contact <a
href="mailto:katherine.oshea@reprieve.org"
style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;"
target="_blank">katherine.oshea@reprieve.org</a>.<br>
<br>
3. The ministers summoned by Yemeni parliamentarians were the Minister
of Defence, Major General Mohammed Nasser Ahmed and the Minister of
Interior, Major General Abdo Hussein Al-Tareb.<br>
<br>
4. Reprieve US opened in New York City in February 2014. A partner
organization to Reprieve UK, Reprieve US provides advocacy and
litigation aimed at stopping abuses in the death penalty and in
counter-terrorism. For information about the work of Reprieve US please
visit <a
href="http://reprieve.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d176b31fc0ccbde9f3f3a6349&id=2effc5e926&e=f8755a10f3"
style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;"
target="_blank">reprieve.org</a> or contact Katherine O’Shea on <a
href="mailto:katherine.oshea@reprieve.org"
style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;"
target="_blank">katherine.oshea@reprieve.org</a> or <a
href="tel:%2B1%20917%20855%208064"
style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline;"
target="_blank" value="+19178558064">+1 917 855 8064</a>.
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.freedomarchives.org">www.freedomarchives.org</a>
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