Amnesty International Demands Houthis Release Yemeni Lawyer Detained For 7 Months Without Charge
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
Amnesty International called on the Houthi group in Yemen on Thursday to immediately and unconditionally release human rights lawyer Abdulmajeed Sabra, seven months after what it described as his arbitrary detention due to his exercise of the right to freedom of expression.
In a statement, the organization said Sabra was arrested on September 25, 2025, from his office in the capital, Sana’a, by armed Houthi elements alongside gunmen in civilian clothes. It noted that the arrest was based on his social media posts regarding the commemoration of the September 26 Revolution.
It added that Sabra was placed in solitary confinement for more than two weeks in December 2025 and has begun an intermittent hunger strike to protest his detention conditions, as no official charges have been brought against him to date.
Amnesty International emphasized that his continued detention is part of a broader pattern of arbitrary arrests, demanding the release of all those detained under similar circumstances—including UN staff and civil society organization workers arrested during wide-scale detention campaigns in 2024 and 2025.
The organization called for an end to what it described as arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances, and for ensuring respect for freedom of expression in areas under Houthi control.
