More than 620 of our abducted, arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared sons have been suffering worsening conditions at prisons all over the country, especially amidst the cold spell, which makes them vulnerable to winter illnesses while being deprived of medical care.
According to the figures of Abductees’ Mothers Association, the current numbers of abductees and arbitrarily detained persons are; 507 abducted civilians, 3 of whom are women, are held by Houthi armed group, 85 arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared persons held by STC-controlled Security Belt in Aden, 21 detainees held by the government in Marib and Taiz, and 11 abductees held by the Joint Forces at the west coast. The conditions of all abductees and detainees have deteriorated, especially the winter becomes much harsher.
At Alsaleh Prison in Taiz, which is run by Houthi armed group, officers take the blankets and clothes provided by abductees’ families, but they are never given to the abductees inside prisons while at Central Prison in Sana’a only a little bit of food is provided to abductees, and no blankets are allowed inside Political Security Prison in Sana’a. At Security Belt’s Prisons in Aden, arbitrarily detained individuals are not allowed to leave their cells for sunlight and warmth.
Additionally, many cells of the government’s prisons are not equipped with mattresses and blankets while at west coast’s prisons families are not allowed to provide any food or medications for their abducted relatives.
At Abductees’ Mothers Association, we rally here by the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Sana’a to show our protest against the inhuman detention conditions in all prisons, and condemn the medical negligence and prevention of providing clothes, blankets, medications and food at prisons. We demand the ICRC to visit prisons in order to take care of detainees’ wellness, especially the ailed ones.
We call upon human rights organizations and activists to support our abducted, forcibly disappeared and arbitrarily detained sons, and stand behind their case until they are released and their suffering is ended.
Issued by Abductees’ Mothers Association, Sana’a.
December 19th, 2021.