29 May 2011

Yemen to cartoonist: 'We can squash you'

As the Yemeni standoff continues, dictatorial president Ali Abdallah Saleh stubbornly clings to the seat of power. Few people know this better than Kamal Sharaf, a freelance cartoonist.

kamal sharaf

Sharaf's cartoons about Yemen and other Arab struggles in countries like Palestine were published in newspapers and on websites. He often mocked President Saleh and consequently received emails warning that he would regret it. "Don't step on people who are above you," said one email.

In August 2010, Kamal was at home breaking the Ramadan fast when "special forces surrounded the house like American marines," he recalls. "They had lasers on their guns. It smelled like America. Even their bodies were different from Yemeni soldiers."

One of the soldiers shouted: "Kamal come down or we will break the house." Kamal and his brothers went out.

A police officer told him there was a warrant for his arrest and he would find out what the charges were later. Two soldiers cuffed his hands behind his back, blindfolded him and forced him to lay down in their vehicle. He could feel their gun barrels touching his head and stomach.

He was eventually interrogated with the blindfold still on by what he guessed were seven people. The interrogation lasted until dawn. They asked about his caricatures of the president and about his relationship with another journalist called Abdelillah Shay'a who specialised in Islamist movements.

Kamal was accused of working for al-Qaeda's media wing along with Abdelillah, as well as with the Zeydi Shia rebels in the north called the Houthis.

Story continues on Al Jazeera English