Yemen clerics prohibit use of force against protesters

Yemen clerics prohibit use of force against protesters

By Fatik Al-Rodaini

SANAA – Feb 21, 2011, Yemeni clerics issued a statement on Monday prohibiting the use of force against protesters, which they described as a "crime," and calling for a ban on arbitrary arrest and torture.

"Any act of beating or killing of protesters is a deliberate crime," said the association of Yemeni clerics headed by Sheikh Abdul Majid Zindani.

The clerics demanded a ban on "arbitrary arrest and (all forms of) torture" and said that pro-government rallies should be held away from protest demonstrations to avoid the deadly clashes of recent days.

Zindani is blacklisted as a "global terrorist" by Washington for his suspected links to Al-Qaeda but the association groups clerics of both Yemen's Sunni majority and its Zaidi minority.