[The following press release was issued by the Council of the Alkarama Foundation on 24 December 2014.]
The Council of the Alkarama Foundation met yesterday following the announcement by the US Department of Treasury of its decision to qualify Dr Abd al-Rahman Omair Alnaimi, president of the Council as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist".
The Council takes note of this announcement and explores all ways and means to deal with this situation.
The Alkarama Foundation will continue to carry out its work in a serious, professional way and according to the values and principles which have always guided it in its mission for the defense and assistance of all victims of human rights violations in the Arab world.
For the Council
Abbas Aroua
24 December 2013
Annex: Press release by Dr Abd al-Rahman Omair Alnaimi
The U.S. Treasury Department has issued a statement in which he describes me as "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" (Ref.: http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl2249.aspx).
The release presents me as a "terrorist financier and facilitator who has provided money and equipment and communication support al- Qaeda and its affiliates in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen for over a decade".
I wish through this release to deny all these totally unfounded accusations that aim to silence me because of my publicly declared opposition to U.S. policies in the Arab world and, in particular in the Gulf area since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
It is a known fact that daring today to denounce the occupation and violations of the rights of peoples in the region can lead to such accusations but I proclaim loudly that I will continue to assert my right to freely express my political views even should they displease some and I will continue to act with honor and respect of international law, the very same law which continues to be flouted blatantly by those who accuse me.
My struggle for human rights and the defense of victims of violations has already earned me since several years to be declared "persona non grata" by the repressive regimes in the region.
I also raise the question of why , if the U.S. authorities , as they say in their statement had such serious accusations against me and for such a long time – over a decade -, they have not acted earlier . The fact that my name is associated with another person from Yemen, Mr. Humaikani , founder of a major political party in this country, and also quoted in the same press release and referred to the same penalties, suggests to me that it is probably the outstanding legal work led by the organization Alkarama on targeted killings in Yemen conducted by the U.S. that triggered this reaction against me. Indeed, just two weeks ago I attended the ceremony of the 2013 Alkarama Award for human rights defenders, awarded this yearto a Yemeni journalist, Mr. Shaye, imprisoned for three years on U.S. orders because he unveiled to the world the real effects of a U.S. Drone attack: 14 women and 21 children shredded by U.S. missiles.
This kind of sanctions imposed for political reasons by the U.S. authorities are not new and many people have been wrongly accused before being bleached after suffering for many years of unjust sanctions. It is shocking to see that even today, anyone in the Arab world who does humanitarian and human rights work but expresses not "politically correct" opinions, not because those which violate universal principles but simply because they oppose repression, face a strong risk of being branded as "supporting terrorism".
I will take my part for my fight against this injustice by all legal means, including before US courts, and I remain also willing to talk to the authorities of this country to dismiss suspicions, which I am convinced, are largely fed by repressive regimes in the region.
Abd al-Rahman Omair Alnaimi
24 December 2013