Rights Radar: Houthi Claims Regarding the Death of Mohammed Qahtan Are Inconsistent with Documented Facts
Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
The human rights organization Rights Radar on Saturday expressed deep concern over recent developments regarding the fate of prominent Yemeni politician Mohammed Qahtan, who has been forcibly disappeared by the Houthi group for the past 11 years, reaffirming its rejection of the circulating account of his death.
In a statement, the organization said: “In light of the information that has emerged concerning the Houthi group’s claims about what are believed to be the remains of a body said to belong to Mohammed Qahtan, it is neither reasonable nor acceptable to believe this account, which is inconsistent with reality.”
It added that the claim that Qahtan was killed in an airstrike contradicts facts documented by several human rights organizations, including Rights Radar.
The organization noted that it had previously presented evidence refuting the Houthis’ assertion that Qahtan was killed in an air raid in 2015. It explained that on 5 February 2019, the group’s Specialized Criminal Prosecution Office issued a memorandum to the Political Security Agency ordering his release, which conflicts with the earlier claim that he had died in April 2015.
Rights Radar also pointed out that a Houthi memorandum issued in February 2019 referred to a criminal case filed against Qahtan on 11 November 2015—approximately seven months after his alleged death. The organization said this amounts to an “implicit and official acknowledgment” that he was alive and in the group’s custody at least until that date.
The organization concluded by expressing regret over what it described as the Houthis’ insistence on dealing “unrealistically” with Qahtan’s fate, calling on the group to assume its moral and legal responsibilities toward him as a victim, toward his family and relatives, and to disclose his fate transparently.
