Assaults on writers and journalists in the Arab world are not uncommon, but the case of the Yemeni poet who just had his tongue cut out appears to be one of the most horrifying crimes against those who dare to express their views in public. The poet, Walid al-Ramishi, was kidnapped by armed gangsters in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. The kidnappers released him after they had cut out his tongue. Al-Ramishi is now being treated in a Jordanian hospital, where doctors say he would not be able to talk again. His alleged crime: he had written a poem in...