Houthi authorities transferred at least six detainees to the Specialized Criminal Prosecution in Sanaa on August 23. Among them is a United Nations employee, a UN consultant, and three people who worked with international and local nongovernmental organizations.
It’s the latest move in the Houthis’ campaign of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances of dozens of UN staff and employees of Yemeni and international civil society organizations that began on May 31, 2024.
Dr. Ali Al-Mudhwahi is one of the six detainees whose case was transferred. At the time of his arrest, he was a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) consultant and was also an advisor to the Houthi’s Ministry of Public Health and Population, according to his wife, Safiah Mohammed. Authorities have subjected him to “solitary confinement, torture, and severe psychological pressure” throughout his detention, he told his wife via phone. The Houthis—who are against vaccinations—have tried to force him to confess that vaccines were “nothing but espionage tools” and that he was “a spy recruited by the World Health Organization,” his wife shared with Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch has documented the detention campaign since June 2024. Of the many dozens who’ve been arrested, authorities did not provide arrest warrants to most, and the Houthis forcibly disappeared many detainees for months. The Houthis, who have a long track record of torturing detainees, have denied them adequate access to lawyers, family members, and medical care, including some with serious medical conditions.
Yemen’s Criminal Procedures Law requires judicial officers to immediately hear a detainee’s statement and refer the detainee, along with the arrest report, to the public prosecution within 24 hours. The law further requires prosecutors to decide on the detainees’ case within the following 24 hours, or the detainee must be released immediately. The Houthis’ prolonged arbitrary detention of humanitarian workers without prompt referral to prosecutors or meaningful judicial review violated these basic safeguards. International human rights law also requires detainees to be brought promptly before a judge or equivalent to rule on the legality of their detention, and to be charged promptly or released. Their failure to provide basic due process protections undermines the legitimacy of any subsequent proceedings, including the current interrogation before the Specialized Criminal Prosecution.
Judicial institutions under Houthi control, including the Specialized Criminal Prosecution, should comply with Yemeni and international law and order the release of all those arbitrarily detained.