Abdelghani Al-Shamiri kidnapped

Abdelghani Al-Shamiri, the former news director of the state-owned radio and TV service, was kidnapped by national security officials while on his way home in Sanaa and was taken to an unidentified location. He was released the next day after pressure from the Union of Journalists. He had recently resigned from his positions within the ruling party and declared his support for the protesters who have been calling for President Ali Abdallah Saleh’s resignation. Thereafter, he had been getting many messages threatening him or members of his family with reprisals if he continued to support the opposition movement.