Human Rights Organization Documents 1,969 Cases of Enforced Disappearance, Including 203 Women, in Houthi Secret Prisons
Yemen Monitor / Geneva / Abdullah Al-Attar:
The Erada Organization for Combating Torture and Enforced Disappearance unveiled an extensive human rights report documenting a facet of the violations committed by the Houthi militia in its secret detention centers. The organization announced it has monitored 1,969 cases of enforced disappearance, including 203 women, inside prisons affiliated with the Houthi Security and Intelligence Agency.
The organization’s announcement came today, Monday, from the United Nations Office in Geneva during a meeting with the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
The report, titled: “The Houthis and the Secrets of Secret Detention Centers and Prisons,” detailed that the victims are subjected to grave violations amounting to crimes against humanity, including torture, denial of fundamental rights, and complete isolation from the outside world.
During the presentation, Sheikh Jamal Al-Ma’amari, the organization’s head and the Dean of the Kidnapped and Prisoners, provided a detailed explanation about the nature of the secret detention centers and the names of the officials responsible for their administration. He affirmed that the Houthi militia pursues a systematic policy based on enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest, and the targeting of employees of UN and international organizations.
Al-Ma’amari also discussed the humanitarian suffering of the forcibly disappeared and their families, and the devastating psychological effects and deprivation of basic necessities they face. He noted that the Houthis have reneged on UN efforts regarding the file of the kidnapped and have instead escalated their attacks on UN employees through kidnappings, fabrication of charges, and character assassination.
The organization stressed that peace in Yemen will not be possible without redressing the harm done to victims and ensuring that perpetrators do not escape punishment. It reiterated its commitment to continue documentation and conveying the voices of the victims to the international community. The organization delivered dozens of documented files on enforced disappearance cases to the UN team, coinciding with the 63rd anniversary of the September 26 Revolution.
For its part, the UN Working Group condemned the practices of the Houthi militia, considering them a “heinous crime” that contradicts international law and UN conventions. It affirmed its full support for the victims until their freedom is restored and commended the efforts of the Erada Organization and its head, Al-Ma’amari, in monitoring the violations despite the enormous challenges facing their work.
