User:Mvwold/sandbox

Jamal Al-Sharaabi (unknown - 18 March 2011) was a Yemeni journalist. He was a photographer for the independent weekly, Al-Masdar, in Sana'a, Yemen. He was one of the 44 individuals killed by Yemeni security forces during a demonstration against President Ali Abdullah Saleh held on March 18, 2011. Along with the dead hundreds more were wounded. At the time of the Yemen anti- government protest, Jamal al-Sharaabi was reporting the demonstration for the local weekly, Al-Masdar. Yemen authorities opened fire on the protesters. Many of the victims were shot in the head and left on the streets as a result of the violence. Jamal al-Sharaabi was one of the first journalists in Yemen to die while covering the protests.

Personal
Jamal al-Sharaabi was thirty-five years old and he was a father to four children.

Career
Jamal al-Sharaabi was employed as a photographer for the independent weekly newspaper, Al-Masdar.

Death
Jamal Ahmed al-Sharaabi was shot when authorities fired on the protesters in Sana'a on Change Square, in the capital of Yemen, while he was reporting on the scene. Many of the dead were shot in the neck and head, with the bodies being left in the streets.

Context
Yemen’s president is Ali Abdullah Saleh. He has been in office for the past thirty-three.

Due to civil unrest Ali Abdullah Saleh publicly handed his office to his deputy. Although, Saleh has continued to cause agitation between himself and the new government as a result of giving up his power. The result of the tension between the two parties has caused increased violence in the time since the trading of power. The violence has included the death of five protesters at the hands of pro-government activists in Yemen the day after the president signed his office over to the deputy. This ongoing civil unrest from the pro-goverment activists and government forces with the tribesmen who support the protesters is furthering the distance to peace for Yemen. Even now the neighborhoods in Yemen are in havoc from government forces that have received questionable information regarding the activities of tribesman in those areas. Since the beginning of Yemen’s political war protesters numbering in the tens of thousands have continually voiced their disapproval of the government and promise to continue until their demands are met, included among these are for the government to give up its rule. This has continued from the time of their uprising in the Spring of 2011 and the protesters say they plan to stay for a long time or until the issue is met, even if it leads to civil war.

It has been reported that with all that has happened in Yemen, the protesting might have been inspired by Tunisia and Egypt’s protests of their governments. Either way the protesting continues in Yemen and is spreading.

The United States has been in relations with Yemen’s president Saleh in order to obtain his help in fighting al-Qaida. Even though the United States spoke against the violence in Yemen, it is unknown what kind of role the United States will play in this issue. It has been reported that the United States sent military assistance to Yemen’s government.

Impact
The impact of this event has been to bring to our attention the dangers journalists face every day out in the field while doing their jobs. In countries that are less than friendly towards journalists they can face possible risk of being physically attacked, or arrested, for simply trying to do their jobs. Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO expressed great disapproval for the death of Jamal Ahmed al-Sharaabi during the attack that killed and injured of dozens of unarmed civilians on March 18, 2011. Jamal Ahmed al-Sharaabi was among the first to be shot in front of the capital while covering a crowd of protesters. Irina Bokova said, "The killing of Jamal Ahmed al-Sharabi is an attack against the basic human right of the people of Yemen to freedom of expression." He continued by saying, "It is the duty of the authorities to ensure that journalists are able to carry out their professional duties in the safest possible conditions.” In the year following the attacks the former president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, threatened to arrest the Prime Minister Mohammed Salem Basindawa because of their differences in how the regime should be run. As a result this has continued to increase tension between the new and former Yemeni regimes.

Reactions
As a reaction to Friday’s government violence against the protesters,Yemen is now in a state of emergency.

The U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, expressed liberty to the Yemeni people. She mentioned that the Yemeni people deserve the right to demonstrate peacefully, to freely assemble, and to express themselves without fear of being harmed. Also, the U.S. President, Barack Obama, deplored the unrest in Yemen and mentioned that thereneeded to be an international investigation.

Even in the past, Ann Cooper, the executive director of CPJ, urged the Yemen government to publicly condemn these types of brutal attacks against the media. She believes it is extremely important that law enforcement holds a proper investigation into such events in order for more there to be more accountability to the law.