"The UN human rights office is due to deploy a
three-member delegation to Yemen on Monday for a 10-day mission to assess the
human rights situation in the country in light of recent events,"
spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a news briefing.
The team of experts, whose names are not being disclosed for
security reasons, are staff of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi
Pillay. Her office has sought access to Yemen to make an independent assessment
since the crisis began in March and the mission comes at Sanaa's invitation.
The experts will talk to Yemeni government officials,
activists, victims of human rights violations, political opposition members and
religious leaders during the June 27-July 6 mission, a UN statement said.
"The team will also try to meet internally displaced
persons and intends to visit medical facilities and detention centers in a
number of cities," it said.
In the southern port city of Aden on Friday, Yemeni forces
backed by tanks fired on a funeral procession for a young man beaten to death
in police custody, killing at least one person.
The burial of 25-year-old Ahmed Darwish turned into an
anti-government protest by tens of thousands of people calling for the ouster
of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Similar protests were held around the nation,
including in the capital, Sanaa.
Darwish was arrested in a mass roundup by security forces
last year. It does not appear he was involved in any political activism or with
the southern secessionist movement that has simmered for years in Yemen, but
his death became a rallying point for those fed up with abuses by security
forces.
A forensic report published by rights groups found that
Darwish was tortured to death in June of last year, and his family had refused
to bury him until an investigation was concluded. A court ruling on Sunday
found three policemen guilty in his killing and determined that Darwish died of
beatings with metal objects, said his brother, Anwar. The policemen have not
been sentenced.
As Friday's funeral turned into an angry demonstration,
government forces moved in to disperse the crowds. At least one person was
killed by gunfire and six others were wounded. "We are witnessing a second
funeral now and a new misery that involves the killing of innocents," said
Anwar Darwish.
