Lawyer “Abdul Majeed Sabrah” Begins a Hunger Strike in Houthi Detention Centers

Yemen Monitor/ Sana’a/ Exclusive:

Prominent Yemeni lawyer and legal advisor, Abdul Majeed Sabrah, began an open hunger strike on Tuesday inside a Houthi detention center in the capital, Sana’a, protesting his continued arbitrary detention without any official charges filed against him.

Rights and family sources told Yemen Monitor that lawyer Sabrah, who is currently held in a detention center run by the Houthi “Security and Intelligence” apparatus in the “Saref” area north of Sana’a, started his hunger strike after being transferred over the past months between several prisons run by the same apparatus.

The armed group had abducted Sabrah on September 25 of last year, following a raid on his office in the “Shumaila” area in the south of the capital.

The group later conditioned his release on signing pledges to abandon human rights work, refrain from posting on social media platforms, and stop defending detainees, despite a release order being issued by the Specialized Criminal Court in Sana’a.

Walid Sabrah, the detained lawyer’s brother, confirmed that the hunger strike comes due to the Houthis’ intransigence in releasing his brother after 260 days of being disappeared behind bars without legal justification or procedures ensuring his right to a fair trial.

Sabrah’s brother wrote on his Facebook account: “For a lawyer and human rights activist known for advocating for the oppressed to take such a harsh step is not a casual choice, but rather a humanitarian and moral cry in the face of tyranny, and a peaceful protest after exhausting all available means to demand his right to freedom and justice.”

Sabrah family held the Houthis fully responsible for his safety and life, demanding his immediate and unconditional release, or his referral to an independent judiciary that guarantees his legal rights, and enabling his family to communicate with him without restrictions.