Four foreign journalists deported

Four foreign journalists – two Britons and two Americans – were deported after being arrested at the apartment they shared in Sanaa’s old quarter. The two Britons were Oliver Holmes, who strings for the Wall Street Journal and Time, and Portia Walker, who strings for the Washington Post. The Americans were Haley Sweetland Edwards, who writes for the Los Angeles Times and AOL News, and Joshua Maricich, who writes for various media including the Yemen Times. The authorities said they are arrested for “residing illegally in Yemen.” But, according to the information obtained by Reporters Without Borders, they had been living and working in the country for several years and were known by the authorities, including the information ministry. For the previous few weeks, they had been very busy covering a wave of protests calling for the removal of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled since 1979.