Yemen Monitor/ Sana’a/ Exclusive:
The Houthis have escalated their crackdown on politicians and activists who are calling for demonstrations and celebrations to mark the 26th of September Revolution in areas under the armed group’s control; while calls for massive demonstrations in Sana’a continue this week.
According to sources who spoke to Yemen Monitor, at least 80 detainees, including at least two women, have been abducted by the Houthis over the past ten days from the governorates of Sana’a, Ibb, Dhamar, Amran, Al-Mahwit, and Hodeidah.
Among the detainees are three tribal chiefs, more than five members of the Central Standing Committee of the General People’s Congress party, two journalists, and the rest are activists, government employees, and social media influencers.
The security and party sources in this report spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of Houthi reprisals. While the names of about 40 detainees have been revealed, the Houthis are conditioning the release of the rest on not publicizing their arrests, justifying this by claiming that “publicly announcing it will harm the detainee more,” a tactic the Houthis have often used to conceal their abuses over the past ten years.
The Houthis are imposing extensive surveillance on the movements of Congress Party leaders and tribal chiefs in the governorate of Sana’a, including their homes and tribal gatherings. The same applies to members and leaders of the Yemeni Islah Party who have retired from political work since the Houthis seized control of Sana’a.
Sources say the Houthis have threatened dozens of tribal chiefs and political leaders with arrest and confiscation of their money and property if they participate in calls to celebrate the 26th of September Revolution in their tribal gatherings or on social media.
At least one source said that the Houthis have placed three tribal chiefs in Amran under house arrest.
The Houthi group has instructed its supervisors in governorates, districts, and neighborhoods to monitor the content of social media, WhatsApp groups, and anyone calling for demonstrations on September 26, including women’s groups and schools.
The Houthis fear the outbreak of massive demonstrations this week as calls for protests have intensified among young people in Sana’a and other governorates to celebrate the September 26, 1962 revolution that ended the Imamate in Yemen and declared the establishment of the Yemeni Republic. The Houthis are accused of reinstating a new version of the Imamate system.
Dozens of patrols and security checkpoints have been deployed in the streets of the capital Sana’a over the past ten days.
Three activists who spoke to Yemen Monitor on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest said they would join the demonstrations on September 26 with their friends.
Lamia, a 30-year-old employee, told Yemen Monitor that she hung the national flag on her car on Friday evening in Sana’a, saying, “They won’t do anything, if they want to, let them arrest the people of Sana’a.”
Last year, thousands took to the streets after the Houthis confiscated national flags in the streets and prevented the celebration of the 26th of September Revolution.
A neighborhood leader in central Sana’a told Yemen Monitor that he cannot tell people not to go out to demonstrate and raise national flags, saying, “This is a lack of shame and an insult to all of us. How can we prevent people from raising the national flag and celebrating the national holiday”?
The neighborhood leader points out that the instructions received from the Houthis indicate that there are cells funded by America that want people to go out to celebrate the national holiday, asking, “What is the interest of the Americans in people going out raising their national flags? Why are we sensitive about our flag”?
In the governorate of Ibb (south of Sana’a), dozens of activists began preparations for the celebration as the Houthi crackdown on activists began at the beginning of this month. One activist said, “We will hold the celebration in the mountains, valleys, villages, and schools, anywhere, if we cannot celebrate in the city of Ibb (the governorate center).”
Residents of the governorate, which has long resisted the Imamate, have traditionally celebrated the 26th of September Revolution since the Houthis seized control of the capital Sana’a in 2014
