Rights Report: Houthis Continue to Abduct Thousands of Civilians and Torture Them in Secret Prisons
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms has issued a new report revealing the continued abduction of Yemeni civilians by Houthi militias, coinciding with the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, observed annually on August 30.
According to the report, the Network’s field team documented 2,678 cases of enforced disappearance among civilians, including 158 women and 137 children, at the hands of the Houthi militias between January 1, 2018, and April 30, 2025, across 17 Yemeni governorates.
The report details that the enforced disappearance crimes committed by the Houthi militias targeted various groups within the Yemeni population. This includes 689 workers, 209 politicians, 301 military personnel, 182 educators, 74 activists, 93 students, 108 merchants, 137 children, 118 social figures, 51 media professionals, 49 preachers and speakers, 23 academics, 158 women, 392 foreigners, 52 lawyers, and 43 doctors.
The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms indicates that the Houthi militias operate 641 prisons in the governorates they control, including 368 official prisons and 273 secret prisons, where hundreds of victims are subjected to various forms of physical and psychological torture.
The Network clarified that the Capital Secretariat Governorate topped the list of governorates where torture of abductees was documented, with 518 cases of torture recorded, including 52 children, 43 women, and 61 elderly individuals. Additionally, 67 deaths resulting from torture were documented.
The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms has called on the United Nations, the UN Security Council, and the Human Rights Council for urgent intervention to stop the Houthi militias’ violations, including arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances. It also demanded that those responsible for these violations be held accountable.
The Network also urged the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and its High Commissioner in Yemen to fulfill their roles in protecting human rights and to compel the Houthi militias to cease arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances and to compensate the victims.
These violations point to a severe deterioration in the human rights situation in Yemen and underscore the need for immediate action to halt these abuses and ensure that those responsible are held accountable.
