SANA'A: Tawakkul Karman, the well-known Yemeni activist/journalist/2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner is continuing her campaign against Yemen's President Ali Abdallah Saleh as she tries to convince European countries of the legitimacy of her claim that he go to the International Criminal Court (ICC). For several months now, the young woman has made no secret of her desire to rid Yemen of its rampant corruption, starting with holding those found guilty of embezzlement and other crimes accountable before the Yemeni people and the law. Karman's tenacity is actually starting to pay off as countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK are said to be supporting the move. Of all the EU countries it is Germany, which is proving pro-active as its government issued a warrant authorizing the freezing of assets of several Yemeni officials close to Ali Abdullah Saleh. In visit to the Netherlands, the Nobel Peace Prize told the press on Monday that she was determined to plead her case before Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. She maintains that Saleh should not be allowed to walk free with immunity given the many crimes he committed. Back in Yemen several high ranking ruling party members revealed that Saleh had agreed to the power-transfer as he feared his assets would be frozen and a travel ban imposed on him, preventing him from getting the medical treatments he needed following an assassination attempt. BM
