Abductees’ Mothers Association has documented 32 cases of forced disappearance, 2 of whom are held by Abu Alabas group, one held by the Joint Forces at the western coast, and 29 are held by Houthi armed group. Some of the victims have been forcibly disappeared for as long as 6 years, with no news of their medical conditions and safety. Ahmed Haddash’s family held a condolence gathering, expecting that he had passed away, after looking for him in many prisons and being told he was not held at any of them. Eventually, the family found out, after many years, that he was still alive when he called them on the day of his release.
Mohammed Al-Besbas’ mother said “I looked for my son for a long time after he was abducted. I sold everything I had in order to know where he was held. Yet, they only returned his dead body after he was killed in the bombing of Dhamar’s Community College Prison.”
At Abductees’ Mothers Association, we rally here by the office of district administration to condemn the repeated delay of the case of abductees and forcibly disappeared persons, prolonging their disappearance, and excluding their issue from any international and local mediations to release abductees.
We hold all abducting parties fully accountable for the lives and safety of our abducted sons, mainly the forcibly disappeared ones.
We demand the Presidential Leadership Council to urgently uncover the fate of the forcibly disappeared individuals held by its parties. We call upon the UN Special Envoy to mount the necessary pressure upon all parties to uncover the fate of all forcibly disappeared persons and release them.
We reiterate that the issue of our abducted, forcibly disappeared, and arbitrarily detained son is purely humanitarian, and must not be used in political conflicts.
Issued by Abductees’ Mothers Association, Taiz. August 23rd, 2022.