Abductees’ Mothers Association strongly condemns the Houthi and Saleh armed groups assault on their protesting rally by to the UN Office in Sana’a, on Monday, which was urging the UN to carry out its duty to protect the fundamental rights of their sons.

They said in an official statement that this incident was a brutal attack on the mothers of hundreds of civilian abductees who were in Houthi/Saleh detention centers for more than 19 months.

Houthi and Saleh armed group assault against mothers is violating all human rights, fundamental civil rights and human morals, as well as social values and traditions of the Yemeni conservative society, particularly when it occurred right at the doors of the UN office in Sana’a.

Abductees’ Mothers suffered vicious physical attack, brutal assault and beating by rifle butts once they arrived at the UN office in Sana’a, during the visit of the UN Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Chiekh Ahmed, to organize their rally demanding the urgent release of their sons and family members from Houthi detention centers.

Houthi and Saleh armed groups confiscated mobile phones of the female protesters and publicly insulted them with very foul word and shameless act, with no consideration or respect to their elderly age.

We are calling upon the UN, international human rights organizations, feminism activists and international community to carry out their duties and protect us and our civil rights from such brutal violations, and demanding them to play their role to force the Houthi armed group to immediately release our sons and relatives from their prisons and detention centers.

The systemic violations of Houthi and Saleh armed groups are very severe to the abductees and their families in Sana’a. This attack is considered a clear message that Houthi and Saleh armed group are turning the case of civilian abductees to a political blackmail and bargain, despite clearly being a humanitarian cause.

#ReleaseMySonFirst

#FreedomForOurSons

 

What was done to our sons by Houthie and Saleh armed group in the morning of Eid day, September 11th, 2016, of firing live ammunition to disperse abductees’ families, and verbal and physical assault on women which led to violently pushing down a female relative of an abductee onto the ground, was not an isolated incident as the families had been repeatedly harassed and prevented from visiting their imprisoned relatives since the beginning of the month. What has been happening since that day urges every human soul to stand together against these deliberate violations against the abductees.

On top of that, Houthis attacked the unarmed detainees, installed CCTV cameras in every corner of prison, humiliatingly searching detainees using dogs, denying them of their minimum rights such as food, drinking water, needed medications. In addition, Houthis seized all the money prisoners had, put some of them in solitary confinement, and cramped others in small cells forcing them to spend a whole night standing, with no respect or consideration of Eid sanctity they were prevented from inside and outside prison.

What is happening to our sons, brothers, and husbands at Habra Prison is inhumane and obviously planned in advance, starting with the illegal abduction and detention to the most brutal ways of torture, continuous starving, and the flooding of prison drainage system countless times which resulted in the spread of different diseases among the abductees and refusing to transfer them to hospital in order to have the needed treatment.

This statement of ours is extended to the United Nations, Ministry of Human Rights in our legitimate government, and the office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights (UNHCHR) urging them to stop Houthi’s arrogance and violations the abductees are facing. And we call out for the International Red Cross to visit Habra Prison and do their respective duty they are abided by in order to protect the detainees, guarantee their safety, and disclose the deliberate violations they go through, so the world can see the inhumanity of Houthi armed group which may lead to loss of lives like it has happened to former abductees who died due to severe torture.

We hold Houthi and Saleh armed groups, represented by their Supreme Political Council, responsible for what may happen to our sons and to what may lead things in the coming days in all prisons, especially Habra Prison.

Our sons’ lives are in grave danger if Houthis do not stop their inhumane crimes.

 

#ReleaseOurSons 

 

To international human consciousness;
To human rights organizations;
To all Yemenis with whom we share land and faith;
Do you heed our call?! Do you hear our accelerating heart beats?!
Our abducted and forcibly hidden sons in Yemeni jails have been always at risk as every moment we go with them into an unknown fate.
We urge you stand by us to stop this risk and end pain by sending them back to their beloved mothers, wives and little children.

Abductees’ Mothers Association, Sana’a