Barran Press
On November 14, 2024, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that Houthi authorities, classified as a terrorist organization, have transferred cases of at least 12 individuals, including former employees of the U.S. Embassy and the United Nations, to the "Specialized Criminal Prosecution" since mid-October.
In a statement reviewed by Barran Press, HRW noted that the Iran-backed group has accused some of these detainees of crimes that carry the death penalty, while denying them due process rights. The organization highlighted a Houthi campaign of abductions since May 31, which has targeted dozens of UN and civil society workers, with an increasing number of individuals reported missing.
HRW also referred to a series of videos released by the Houthis beginning June 10, which show ten Yemeni men, some of whom are now part of the twelve under investigation, confessing to spying for the UN and Israel. The organization expressed concern that these confessions may have been coerced through torture, a practice they have previously documented.
The organization reported that three prominent detainees died in custody over the past year, asserting that the publication of these confession videos undermines the right to a fair trial and lacks credibility.
Nico Jafarniya, a Yemen and Bahrain researcher at HRW stated that the Houthis have consistently shown contempt for due process and basic protections for defendants since their takeover of the Yemeni capital, Sana'a. She emphasized that the deaths of detainees should alert the international community to take immediate action to prevent similar fates for the hundreds still arbitrarily detained by the Houthis.
Regarding the twelve individuals referred to the prosecution, HRW stated that many have been held incommunicado for most of their detention, without the ability to communicate with their families, and have been subjected to enforced disappearance.
The organization cited a UN official who reported that some detainees were interrogated without the presence of legal counsel during the transfer process, with some having no access to lawyers throughout their detention.
Furthermore, HRW noted that the Houthis routinely arrest those who criticize their policies on dubious charges. In the past year, there has been an increase in death sentences issued by Houthi courts, including a mass trial in January that sentenced 32 men to prison and nine to death on questionable charges.
HRW highlighted a marked rise in arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, along with death sentences in recent months, having previously documented systematic abuses in Houthi prisons.
Jafarniya concluded that these cases illustrate the grave risks faced by the dozens, if not hundreds, of individuals still arbitrarily held in Houthi prisons. She called for the Houthis to immediately end arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance and improve prison conditions, urging influential countries to act to prevent further deaths in Houthi custody.