The verdict is in on Yemeni editor Muhammad Assadi of the Yemen Observer, who faced a possible death sentence for publishing the Mohammed Cartoons earlier this year. It’s a small relief, but still a fundamental travesty. Via BBC:

A Yemeni editor has been fined for reprinting controversial cartoons about the Prophet Muhammad from a Danish newspaper earlier this year.

Muhammad Assadi of the Yemen Observer daily was found guilty of denigrating Islam and fined 0.5m riyals (£1,280).

The cartoons caused Muslim anger around the world. Mr Assadi said he wanted to show Yemenis how insulting they were.

Last month a Yemeni editor was jailed for a year for reprinting the images. Another still faces similar charges.

Kamal al-Aalafi, who was given the jail term, has been released on bail and plans appeal against the sentence.

His weekly paper, al-Rai al-Aam, was ordered to be closed for six months. President Ali Abdullah Saleh has pledged to overturn any jail sentences handed to journalists.

Mr Assadi’s lawyer called the judge’s verdict a mistake: “The guilty verdict in this case is what harms the image of Islam.”

Exactly.

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Still paying the price for printing those cartoons

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