Prisoners’ Authority: Houthis Have Turned Enforced Disappearance into A Systematic Tool to Terrorize Yemeni Society
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
The National Authority for Prisoners and Abductees confirmed that the crime of enforced disappearance, systematically practiced by the Houthi group in Yemen, constitutes a “crime against humanity” that does not expire with time, stressing that “the victims’ chapter will not be closed, and their rights will not be lost with the passage of time.”
In a statement issued on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, observed annually on August 30, the Authority renewed its commitment to the victims and their families and raised its voice demanding the disclosure of the fate of all those forcibly disappeared in Houthi prisons and detention centers, as well as by other parties.
The statement emphasized that both the Yemeni constitution and international conventions prohibit arbitrary arrest and enforced disappearance. It noted that the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (2010) considers the practice, when committed widely or systematically, a “crime against humanity.”
Although Yemen has not yet ratified the convention, its legal obligations under its constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights compel it to prevent this crime and hold perpetrators accountable.
The Authority pointed out that since the outbreak of war in Yemen, the Houthis have adopted a clear policy of enforced disappearance—abducting civilians from their homes, workplaces, or even the streets without clear charges or legal procedures, and detaining them in secret, inhumane locations.
According to the statement, these practices include psychological and physical torture as well as ill-treatment, with many survivors suffering chronic illnesses. The group continues to refuse to reveal the fate of victims or allow families to communicate with them.
The statement added that last year saw a dangerous escalation in enforced disappearance, targeting employees of UN and international organizations. The Houthis abducted 71 staff members—both men and women—after storming their homes by force, confiscating their property, and transferring them to unknown detention sites.
The group then fabricated serious charges against these employees, labeling them “spies and agents,” and forced them to record televised confessions, later broadcast on state media, alongside widespread campaigns of incitement and defamation.
The Authority documented the increase in enforced disappearance cases across several governorates, including Ibb, Saada, Hudaidah, and Mahwit, underscoring the widening scope of violations.
According to its data, 228 civilian abductees were subjected to enforced disappearance during the recent period, including 71 UN and international organization employees—figures representing only those cases that monitoring teams were able to document.
The Authority held the Houthi group fully responsible for these crimes and renewed its demands for the immediate release of all forcibly disappeared persons, especially politician Mohammed Qahtan and the abducted UN and international staff. It also called for disclosure of detention locations, family communication rights, and an end to torture and media incitement campaigns against victims.
The statement further urged the Yemeni government to immediately ratify the International Convention on Enforced Disappearance, activate national judicial mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable, and guarantee the right of victims and their families to reparation and compensation.
It also called on the United Nations and the international community to exert real pressure on the Houthi group and all warring parties, establish an independent international investigative mechanism to collect evidence and hold perpetrators accountable, and ensure the protection of humanitarian workers while preventing the use of aid as a tool of political blackmail.
The Authority concluded by affirming that it will continue its work “until the fate of the last forcibly disappeared person in Yemen is revealed and full justice is achieved for the victims.”
