Yemen Monitor/Sana’a/Special:
The judiciary under the control of the Houthi group in Sana’a extended on Monday the imprisonment of journalist Mohammed Dabwan Al-Mayahi for an additional 45 days. He was abducted from his home four months ago.
His lawyer, Ammar Ali Yassin, said, “His client (Al-Mayahi) contacted him by phone from a restricted number, expressing his dissatisfaction with the latest decision to extend his detention.”
Lawyer Yassin pointed out that “Al-Mayahi had adhered to his right to remain silent and refused the investigation, based on a previous decision by the investigation authority to refer him to the Press Prosecution. However, the Houthis exploited this to exert psychological pressure on him, by suggesting that the defense’s advice was the reason for his continued detention.”
Earlier, Al-Mayahi’s lawyer said that a member of the Specialized Criminal Prosecution (affiliated with the Houthis) submitted a request to the court president to extend Al-Mayahi’s imprisonment, even though the same prosecution had previously decided to refer him to the Press Prosecution.
Yassin stressed that the continued detention of Al-Mayahi is illegal, especially since the Houthi intelligence detained him for four months before referring him to the prosecution.
Last September, the Houthis abducted Mohammed Dabwan Al-Mayahi because of writings he published on his official Facebook account criticizing the Houthis’ behavior and calling for the celebration of the September 26 revolution that overthrew the Imamate rule and established the republican system in 1962.
