Abdel Karim al-Khaiwani (Arabic: عبدالكريم الخيواني), also known as Abdul Karim Muhammed al-Khaiwani, (1965 – 18 March 2015) was a Yemeni politician, human rights activist, and journalist, columnist and editor, who was known for his critical articles pertaining to the civil rights abuses and government corruption of the Yemeni government.

In his journalism, al-Khaiwani was a harsh critic on the President Ali Abdullah Saleh's response to the conflict between the north and the central government in the Saada Governorate.

[8] In 2004, al-Khaiwani was sentenced to one year in jail on charges of incitement, insulting the president, publishing false news, and causing disruptive tribal and sectarian sentiments.

[9] In 2007, in response to an article he had written concerning human rights violations in Yemen, al-Khaiwani was abducted, beaten, and threatened with death by gunmen if he continued to publish.

While making the arrests, they struck his 7-year-old daughter and knocked her unconscious, as well as beat al-Khaiwani with the butts of their guns before taking him to prison.

[11] Police found materials that were widely available about the government's fight against rebels in Saada along with an unpublished article he had written criticizing the president.

[3] Al-Qaeda later claimed responsibility for the attack through an online Twitter account saying that two mujihadeen riding motorcycles opened fire on Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani and the gunmen had fled the scene successfully.

The GCHR demanded that the Yemeni government launch an investigation on the assassination of Mr. Khaiwani so that they could publish the results and bring justice to those that deserve it.

[4] Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO said, "I condemn the murder of Abdul Karim Mohammed al-Khaiwani, a dedicated journalist of outstanding integrity.