San'a - AFP

A
court sentenced two activists from Yemen's south, where many still hold
separatist sentiment, for up to five years in prison on Tuesday for
harming national unity.

A judge in the special security court handed the longest term to Fady
Hassan Baoum, a leading activist of the Southern Movement, for
"inciting violence and hatred with the aim of undermining national
unity."
Baoum,
a member of the politburo of the opposition Yemen Socialist Party which
ruled former South Yemen before unification in 1990, said the sentence
was "political" but that he would "consider it a medal."
The general
secretary of the party, Yassin Saeed Noman, protested loudly along with
other MPs from the party who attended the hearing, leading the judge to
order MP Mohammed Saleh al-Qabati out of the courtroom.
Baoum was
arrested in southern Yemen in 2008 and charged with inciting protests
which led to deadly clashes with police in March and April of that year.
At
least 18 people were killed, including five members of the security
forces, in sporadic clashes that broke out between police and
protesters in April 2008.
The government blamed the unrest on
southern rebels demanding secession, but many in the impoverished south
including Baoum's Socialists, have been protesting against bad living
conditions.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered the release of 12 activists including Baoum in September 2008, but he was not freed.
At
the time, the Yemeni Observatory for Human Rights had warned that
Baoum's continued detention "endangers his life" because of his poor
health.
A judge in an adjacent courtroom jailed Aden University
professor Hussein al-Aqel for three years for "spreading false news in
the aim of inciting civil disobedience, not abiding by the law and
constitution, and undermining national unity."
Aqel was also convicted of "insulting" President Saleh in acticles "published in illegal newspapers."
Aqel rejected the sentence but said he would not appeal as he did not recognise the special security court.
"I refuse the sentence and the court, and I hold you accountable," Aqel said addressing the judge.
On Sunday, a former Yemeni ambassador, Qassem Askar also received a five-year jail term for "harming national unity."
Earlier
this month, the same court had also sentenced a former MP to 10 years
in prison and a retired general to 15 months for separatist activities.
The
south has been the site of frequent unrest in recent months, as many
southerners complain of being socially, economically and politically
marginalised.