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Sana'a: A group of five Yemenis being tried for charges of leading violent protests against unity in southern Yemen pleaded for pardon from President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
In a public hearing held on Tuesday by the State Security Court, defendant Ahmad Omar Bin Freed read a letter on behalf of himself and four other inmates.
In the letter he read from behind the bars to Judge Redhwan Al Namer, Bin Freed apologised for their activities that threatened to undermine Yemeni unity and asked for amnesty.
"I sincerely apologise to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and to the nation of May 22, 1990, and to the Yemeni unity, and to the Yemeni people for some mistakes included in my political speeches, which went beyond the ceiling of unity, I should not have committed such mistakes," he said.
"I would say to the head of the state that he has built the nation on the basis of tolerance, love and pardon. We request him to bestow on us that tolerance and pardon, we are the sons of this nation, and are right and wrong."
Apology
The five defendants, whose next hearing will be on October 25, said in the letter that they would no longer call for disunity and would abide by the law.
"We confirm our commitment to the national constants at the top of which is Yemeni unity, the constitution, law and order, and we confirm our rejection of sectarianism and disunity.
"This apology is on my behalf and on behalf of my colleagues - Ali Haitham Al Graib, Yahya Galeb Al Shuaibi, Hussan Zaid Bin Yahya, and Nasser Al Fadhli," Bin Freed said.
The prosecutor accused the five men of inciting people against unity, calling for separation, inciting armed disobedience against authorities, and giving speeches and statements with the purpose of undermining security and public tranquility.
About five people were injured on Tuesday when police fired at demonstrators demanding the release of about 50 detainees, including the five men who were arrested over the last few months.
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