In Aden, Abductees’ Mothers Association has documented 57 cases of enforced disappearance, committed by the Southern Transitional Council’s Security Belt forces. The periods of disappearance have lasted as long as 6 years, with no news of the abductees’ medical conditions and safety. In one case, a family only heard of their son’s arrest from media. The last piece of information they received was that he was transferred to a field hospital run by a Red Cross committee, as a result of an injury in his foot due torture. It was mentioned that he was handcuffed to a wheelchair when hospitalized, and that he had been transferred into different prisons. His family had no clue of his condition since then. This is only a part of a story among dozens of heart-wrenching ones.
At Abductees’ Mothers Association, we rally here by Alma’asheeq Presidential Palace, and in conjunction with the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance, to condemn the procrastination of the case of the forcibly disappeared, and refusing to disclose their fate. We greatly condemn the systematic emotional manipulation families face by the abducting parties, by denying detaining them and refusing uncovering their whereabouts.
We hold the Southern Transitional Council’s Security Belt forces completely accountable for the lives and safety of our forcibly disappeared sons.
We demand the Presidential Leadership Council and the whole government to take serious actions to disclose the fate of our forcibly disappeared sons in Aden.
Issued by Abductees’ Mothers Association, Aden. August 30th, 2022.