Human Rights Organization: 752 Cases of Enforced Disappearance Documented in Houthi Prisons Since 2014
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
The organization “IRADA for Anti-Hatred and Violence” stated that it has documented 752 cases of enforced disappearance in detention centers run by the Houthis in Yemen since 2014, including 237 children, noting that a number of detainees were subjected to torture, while some died during detention.
The organization announced these figures during a human rights seminar held at the United Nations Palace in Geneva on the sidelines of the Human Rights Council sessions, under the title “Victims of Torture and Enforced Disappearance: Impunity and the Need for Accountability,” with the participation of representatives from international organizations, human rights bodies, and civil society institutions.
During the seminar, the head of the organization, Jamal Al-Maamari, journalist Abdulrahman Sailan, and lawyer and academic Omar Kazaba presented testimonies and data on the conditions of detainees and forcibly disappeared persons, along with what they described as violations suffered by abductees inside detention facilities, and the impact on their families, many of whom remain unaware of their relatives’ fate.
The participants called for the opening of independent investigations and the accountability of those responsible for crimes of torture and enforced disappearance, considering that the continued impunity encourages the repetition of these violations.
The seminar also heard testimony from former detainee Qais Ali Harmal, who recounted details of his detention period and what he said he endured in terms of physical and psychological torture, while his daughter spoke about the human and psychological effects his disappearance had on his family.
During the event, the organization screened a short documentary film documenting testimonies of former detainees and families of forcibly disappeared persons, and also unveiled a new report titled “Behind the Wall of Silence,” which it said includes information and photographs documenting one of the Houthis’ secret prisons, including its location and internal layout.
