Court orders Saleh probed for deadly attack on demo

SANAA: A Yemeni court yesterday ordered a new probe into the alleged involvement of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the killing of 45 protesters during the 2011 uprising against his rule.
The court ordered that 12 other Saleh-era officials be questioned on the same March 18 incident during which the ex-autocrat’s loyalists and troops opened fire on an anti-regime rally in the capital.
They include former interior minister Gen. Muther Al-Masri and Saleh’s nephews Yehya and Tariq, both generals.
Yehya is former deputy commander of the central security services, and Tariq is an ex-commander of Saleh’s personal guard.
The court in Sanaa, headed by Judge Yehya Al-Ansi, rejected an appeal by the prosecution which said the request to question Saleh was void, based on an amnesty a UN-backed power transfer deal had offered Saleh and his close aides.
International rights watchdog Human Rights Watch urged Yemen in February to launch an independent probe into the “massacre” of 45 protesters during the uprising.
The New York-based group had said an earlier investigation ordered by Saleh into the killings was flawed, and called for a new probe that is “independent, impartial and meets international standards.”
Faisal Al-Majedim, a lawyer for some of the dead protesters’ families, hailed the court decision as “a victory for the sovereignty of law.”
Another lawyer, Hazem Al-Marisi, accused the public prosecution of siding with Saleh, telling AFP: “We hope the president issues a decree forming an independent investigative committee in charge of this case.”