Rights network documents over 2,400 enforced disappearances by militias since 2017.

Widespread Violations by Houthi Militias

A human rights network has documented more than 2,400 cases of forced disappearances committed by the Houthi terrorist militia from January 1, 2017, to mid-2024. The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms revealed that its field team recorded these incidents across 17 Yemeni provinces during the specified period.

The crimes of forced disappearance affected a wide range of individuals, including 642 workers, 189 politicians, 279 military personnel, 162 educators, 53 activists, 71 students, 88 traders, 117 children, 118 social figures, 31 media professionals, 39 preachers and speakers, 13 academics, 133 women, 382 refugees, 52 lawyers, and 37 doctors.

Torture and Death in Detention

On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the network’s statement highlighted that approximately 1,937 kidnapped individuals suffered various forms of physical and psychological torture in Houthi detention facilities. This group includes 117 children, 43 women, and 89 elderly individuals. Furthermore, 394 detainees were subjected to severe torture leading to death, including 12 children, 9 women, and 15 elderly individuals, either while in custody or shortly after their release.

The report also pointed out that 32 detainees faced extrajudicial killings, while others resorted to suicide to escape the brutality of torture. The field team recorded 79 deaths due to negligence in Houthi prisons, 31 deaths from heart attacks, and about 218 detainees, including 26 children, 12 women, and 49 elderly individuals, suffered from total or partial paralysis, chronic diseases, memory loss, and visual and hearing disabilities as a result of torture.

Houthi-run Detention Facilities

Investigations conducted by the network’s field team revealed that the Houthi militia operates approximately 641 prisons, including 237 official prisons overtaken by the militia and 128 secret prisons established post-coup in basements of government buildings, military sites, and other locations such as ministries, public administrations, Quran memorization centers, some political party headquarters, and residences of politicians.

Calls for International Intervention

The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms has urgently called on the United Nations to intervene for the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared individuals held by the Houthi militias. The network urges the UN Security Council to take an active role in enforcing compliance with international resolutions, including resolutions 2140 (2014), 2201 (2015), and 2216 (2015), to halt violations, arbitrary arrests, and forced disappearances by the Houthi group.

Additionally, the network appeals to the Human Rights Council to condemn the Houthi militias for arbitrary detentions and forced disappearance crimes and to support the efforts of the national investigation committee in conducting inquiries and ensuring fair trials for perpetrators. It also calls on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the High Commissioner’s office in Yemen to protect human rights and compel the Houthi militia to cease arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, compensate victims, and repair damages.

 

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