Human Rights Watch Urges Houthis to Immediately Release Detainees Arrested over September 26 Celebrations
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
Human Rights Watch has called on the Houthi militia to immediately release dozens of civilians detained for peacefully participating in events marking the anniversary of the September 26 Revolution.
The organization stated that the Houthis are devoting vast resources to arresting people over harmless social media posts—far exceeding the efforts they invest in ensuring residents’ access to food and water in areas under their control.
It added that the Houthis must immediately stop detaining individuals merely for exercising their rights to express opinions and beliefs that differ from the group’s ideology.
The statement came after the National Committee for Prisoners and Detainees Affairs, along with several local organizations, documented a large-scale campaign of arrests carried out by the Houthis during the celebrations. The campaign included more than 238 citizens across several governorates, including Dhamar (75), Ibb (38), Al-Mahwit (36), Amran (29), Sanaa (24), Al-Bayda (22), the capital city (7), and Marib (7)—with documentation ongoing in other regions.
The committee noted that many of those detained were targeted for simple, peaceful acts such as raising national flags, setting off fireworks, lighting torches on hilltops, or expressing pride in the revolution on social media.
It stressed that these practices constitute a blatant violation of the Yemeni Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, holding the Houthi militia fully responsible for the safety of the detainees and those forcibly disappeared.
