Human Rights Watch: Says Houthi Broadcast Of “Eternity C” Crew Confessions Is a War Crime
Yemen Monitor/Newsroom:
Human Rights Watch has accused the Houthi group in Yemen of committing a “war crime” by broadcasting video clips showing forced and humiliating confessions from the crew of the cargo ship “Eternity C,” which was targeted and sank in the Red Sea in early July.
In a statement issued Thursday evening, the organization said the video, which the Houthis published on July 27, “violates the human dignity of the crew members who have been detained for weeks and reveals illegal practices, including extracting confessions under duress, which constitutes a war crime under international law.”
The organization explained that the ten-member crew appeared in the video repeating the Houthi narrative that the ship was on its way to Israel. The organization considered this to be “false claims,” raising concerns that the crew was subjected to torture or psychological pressure to make these statements.
The organization called for the immediate release of the crew, stressing that they were being held “without any legal basis,” and demanded they be allowed to return to their homes and families.
Nico Jafarnia, a researcher on Bahraini and Yemeni affairs for the organization, confirmed that the ship was not headed to Israel but to Saudi Arabia after delivering humanitarian aid for the World Food Program in Somalia.
She noted that the Houthi group has a documented history of using torture to extract confessions, citing previous cases, including broadcasting confessions of Yemenis in June 2024 who were accused of spying for Washington and Tel Aviv.
The “Eternity C” was attacked by the Houthis on July 7 with drones and booby-trapped boats, which resulted in serious injuries to the crew. It later sank after a second targeting the following night.
The Houthis later broadcast a video showing the crew members, which included some of them communicating with their families and giving testimonies in which, they allegedly stated that they were not aware of the naval blockade imposed on ships heading to “Israel.”
