Death and Prison Sentences for 17 Civilians in Saada… Detainee Authority Demands an “International Investigation”
Yemen Monitor/ Newsroom:
The National Commission for Prisoners and Abductees expressed its strong condemnation of the sentences issued by the so-called Specialized Criminal Appeal Division of the Houthi group against a group of abductees from Saada governorate. The rulings upheld and ordered the implementation of several death sentences and various prison terms, which the Commission considers a continuation of the group’s approach of politicizing the judiciary and using it as a tool for repression and the violation of rights and freedoms.
In an issued statement, the Commission stated that it had followed with great interest the issuance of the verdict against the abductees, which completely ignored the victims’ experiences of abduction, torture, and inhumane treatment since their detention on May 14, 2020. It pointed out that the detainees were deprived of their most basic legal rights, including the right to defense and communication with their families.
The Commission confirmed that the brutal torture inflicted upon the abductees led to the death of abductee Sadeq Ahmed Yahya Al-Ghawi on June 27, 2020, under torture, an act it considers premeditated, extrajudicial killing.
The statement clarified that the verdict included death sentences for three of the abductees: Mohammed Ahsan Hassan Hilal, Salem Ahmed Ali Dail Rashid, and Mohammed Hussein Yahya Nasser Al-Ghawi.
The ruling also sentenced others to prison terms ranging from 7 to 15 years, including Mohammed Yahya Mohsen Al-Muliki, Abdulrazzaq Rajab Ali Al-Mahraq, Fahd Yahya Jubran Swidan Al-Suwaidan, and others.
The Commission considered these sentences to lack the minimum standards of justice and to be issued by an entity lacking legal legitimacy, affirming that what these civilians have been subjected to represents a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and all human rights covenants.”
The Commission held the Houthi group fully responsible for the crimes of abduction, torture, and extrajudicial killing, calling on the international community, the United Nations, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the International Committee of the Red Cross to take urgent action to stop these violations and release all abductees and those forcibly hidden in the group’s prisons.
It also demanded the formation of an independent international investigation committee to look into the case and all crimes of torture, abduction, and killing in Houthi prisons, and to ensure justice and redress for the victims and their families.
