A death sentence for 30 abductees has been ruled by Criminal Court, which had no jurisdiction according to decree 15 of Supreme Judicial Council of the year 2018, headed by judge Abdu Rajeh. The execution orders, based on charges fundamentally political, is dangerous precedent in the history of Yemeni judiciary.
The court order itself is considered legally invalid and denied by all international law and agreements as abductees illegally and inhumanely arrested and processed. Abductees were forcibly hidden for months in which they went through vicious methods of torture which includes; electrification, torture by suspension, brutal beating, denailing, sticking needles beneath fingernails and toenails, tying genitals to doors, forced nudity, and forcibly drinking sewers water in addition to shackling, starvation, and prevention of using toilets. Moreover, abductees were psychologically and emotionally tortured where Houthis threatened to get their families, especially sisters, tortured too.
After all the torture and suffering, they were brought to disgraced trails based on confessions extracted by torture. Abductees had been defamed over Houthi media months before trials started. During court hearings, their lawyers were threatened inside the courthouse, and denied of any rights. When abductees complained to the court about the torture and violations, they were always tortured, later on, as a punishment for their complaints. And to make it worse, they were sometimes beaten and tortured inside the courthouse during their hearings.
Additionally, Houthis deliberately and totally disregarded all torture and violation complaints presented by abductees, and lawyers’ arguments and presentations.
Those who were included by the sentence are;
- Nabil Ali Rashed Al-Ansi
- Abdullah Ali Hussein Al-Maswari
- Saddam Hussein Al-Rowhani
- Yusuf Saleh Ali Al-Bawab
- Abdulaziz Ahmed Mohammed Al-Hakami
- Othman Abdu Hazem Al-Nowairah
- Saddam Mohammed Mohammed Ali Dukhan
- Mohammed Saleh Ahmed Mayas
- Hussam Abdulwali Al-Mu’alimi
- Mohammed Abdulwahab Mohammed Al-Haddad
- Hamdan Mohammed Mohammed Al-Dhaifi
- Mohammed Yahya Mohammed Al-Akiri
- Nasr Mohammed Al-Salami
- Sa’d Hasan Mohammed Al-Nuzaili
- Waleed Qassem Al-Zain
- Khaled Dawod Al-Nahari
- Muath Ahmed Abdulwahab No’man
- Qaboos Yusuf Haidar Al-Shami
- Yunes Senan Qa’ed Al-Jaradi
- Mohammed Abdu Ali Al-Rayashi
- Mohammed Ebrahim Al-Ahdal
- Ra’ed Mohammed Al-Romaish
- Yusuf Al-Hawri
- Majed Saleh Ahmed Al-Jawdawi
- Azzam Abdulghani Al-Dhubaibi
- Mofadhel Mohammed Ahmed Adham Al-Sharafi
- Abdullah Mohammed Ghaleb Rawba’
- Yusuf Ahmed Naser Al-Kumaim
- Mohammed Hezam Ahmed Al-Yamani
- Ra’fat Ameen Al-Hemairi
Yemeni legitimate government has condemned the death sentence as head of abductees and prisoners’ negotiation team, Hadi Haij, stated that “The death sentence of political activists is an illegal order ruled by a court with no jurisdiction. It is damaging to the process of prisoners’ exchange deals and might totally stop it. The government will not go on with the negotiations unless Griffiths intervenes by placing pressure to stop the executions which conflict with Stockholm agreement”.
This judgement adds a serious offense into the record of Houthi armed group, those impersonating official judges, and those working for public prosecution as it is known that Houthi courts have lost jurisdiction base on a Supreme Judicial Council decree.
After ruling the court orders, abductees’ negotiations have been placed in jeopardy. Houthis practically show their refusal to release abductees conflicting with Stockholm agreement which clearly states that abductees must be released.
Abductees’ Mothers Association holds national and international human rights organizations, the international community, the United Nations, and its Special Envoy to Yemen responsible for totally neglecting abductees and their suffering. The association, also, calls for an immediate intervention to save these abductees who had been living in Houthi-controlled areas and fell victims of a political conflict.