On 4 February 2006, the Yemen Observer published two articles on Muslim reactions to the Danish cartoons depicting the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.
The articles were accompanied by photographs showing 20-30,000 Yemeni women demonstrating against the cartoons, and empty shelves in a Sana’a supermarket with a sign informing customers that Danish products had been withdrawn.
In a trial that began on 23 February 2006, prosecution lawyers called for al-Asadi to be sentenced to death, for the paper to be closed and for all of its assets to be confiscated.
Al-Asadi denied all charges and his defence team argued that the thumbnail images were accompanied by articles that condemned the cartoons and reported reactions from across the Islamic world.
Particularly critical articles on the policy of Ali Abdullah Saleh and the often violent and brutal crackdowns on unarmed demonstrators brought trouble to the journalists.