Yemen Monitor/ Newsroom
Statements of condemnation continued to pour in against the death sentences issued by the Houthi group against dozens of detainees and those forcibly disappeared in their prisons.
Rights Radar, a human rights organization based in Amsterdam, called on the Houthi group in Yemen to cancel all legal proceedings, both in absentia and in person, against hundreds of civilians in areas under their control. These individuals have been charged with baseless and clearly politically motivated accusations.
The organization stated that the latest such accusation was the issuance of an indictment against 105 individuals, most of whom are members of the general assembly of the largest charitable society in Yemen, the (Social Reform Society). This society enjoys consultative status with the United Nations and has a track record of over three decades of humanitarian and development work.
The organization said that the Houthi group’s persistence in issuing such referrals and the resulting decisions and judgments confirms one fact: the Houthis are using the judiciary and prosecution as tools for political liquidation and moral suppression of their opponents and anyone who refuses to engage in their specific political and ideological activities.
In addition, such practices constitute evidence and condemnation of anyone who uses or impersonates their judicial or security status to make themselves a tool of oppression against their opponents.
The organization expressed its strong condemnation of all these repressive measures and expressed its concern about their continuation and the possibility of their deliberate repetition against civilians who are effectively considered hostages, as they lack any means of protest or self-defense to confront the serious charges leveled against them, which often lead to imprisonment or execution.
It affirmed that all decisions and judgments issued by the Specialized Criminal Court in Sana’a, which is under Houthi control, are not considered legal because they are issued by an entity that lacks constitutional and legal legitimacy, based on a decision issued in April 2018 by the Supreme Judicial Council in the internationally recognized government that annulled the Specialized Criminal Court under Houthi authority and transferred the Specialized Criminal Primary Court and the Specialized Appeals Chamber from Sana’a to Marib.
The organization said that the issuance of such decisions raises genuine concern for the lives and safety of detainees and prisoners held by the Houthi group, as they are the party that fully controls the judiciary, making the lives of detainees in real danger.
It pointed out that its genuine concern is based on a regrettable incident that involved the Houthi group executing nine victims kidnapped from Hodeidah governorate in Tahrir Square in the capital, Sana’a, on September 18, 2021, while at least 70 civilians remain on the death row in Houthi prisons, including 12 teachers and 3 university professors.
The organization said that its legal and human rights sources in Sana’a confirmed that the majority, if not all, of those against whom judicial decisions or rulings have been issued are victims of political stereotyping with ready-made charges, most often execution or imprisonment or confiscation of property, thus depriving them of the right to defend themselves in accordance with Yemeni law.
According to Rights Radar, since seizing control of Sana’a in September 2014 until July of this year, the Houthi group has issued more than 641 sentences of imprisonment and execution, including 630 men, 10 women, and one child, 579 of whom were sentenced to death, including 6 women and one child, while 62 were sentenced to imprisonment, including 4 women.
The referral of the list of 105 for trial and the issuance of an indictment against them were preceded by the issuance of a grossly unjust ruling in early June by the same illegitimate court, sentencing 44 civilians to death on charges of espionage, the most commonly used charge to convict the group’s opponents and those who do not submit to its policies. Indeed, repression and tyranny have reached the point of including text messages sent via SMS to subscribers in areas under their control with threats that those who do not participate in the group’s demonstrations will be considered “sympathizers with those they describe as espionage cells,” according to one of the monitored messages.
The organization called on international organizations concerned with human rights to use their moral and legal influence at all levels to stop this madness in targeting civilians in areas under Houthi control.
It also called on the UN envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, to use his influence to intervene effectively to provide immediate protection for victims of trials before Houthi courts and to intervene immediately to overturn the death sentences that pose a real threat to the lives and safety of the targeted victims.
The organization praised the success of local and international efforts and mediations in saving the lives of 17 victims of death sentences and releasing them as part of prisoner exchange deals with the Houthis, including five journalists: Yahya Abdulraqib al-Jabihi, Abdulkhaleq Omran, Tawfiq al-Mansouri, Harith Hamid, and Akram al-Walaidi, and hoped that efforts would succeed in saving the others and ensuring their safety.
