Abductees’ Mothers Association continues its effort in documenting and monitoring the violations against Yemeni civilians around all governorates. The violations documented are mainly abductions, arbitrary arrest and detention, forced disappearance, and the violations accompanied by such crimes. The documenting and monitoring themselves are part of the association’s founding pillars, which is committed to its humanitarian duties in order to protect the victims’ rights and grant bringing the culprits to justice.
The association made its utmost efforts to grants its sons held in all prisons their freedom. It showed its appreciation to all international and local efforts made to support and help civilians acquire their liberties and human rights.
Since the beginning of 2021, Abductees’ Mothers Association documented 54 cases where civilians have been abducted by Houthi armed group, Only 24 of them have been released.
Additionally, two women and 36 men are awaiting execution judgements issued by the Specialized Criminal Court, which no longer holds any jurisdictions, after carrying out several unjust and unlawful trails and hearing.
In a devastating shock, Abductees’ Mothers Association received the news of executing 9 abductees in Sana’a by Houthi armed group. The executed individuals had been forcibly disappeared for years, where they subjected to brutal torture and tried while denied any of their rights of legal defence.
In similar context, the association has documented the abduction of 33 civilians in Aden by Security Belt Forces during the past few months. only 7 of them have been released. Additionally, the same forces abducted 4 students while returning from Malaysia on September 4th, 2021; Husam Tareq Al-Shaibani, Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Shahari, Ahmed Mua’een Al-Madani, Yehya Mansour Al-Ariqi, only to release two of them later on.
Eventually, the whole country was shocked by the news of killing Abdulmalek Al-Sanabani, who was shot after being arrested at a Security Belt Forces’ checkpoint in Lahj on September 8th, 2021.
Abdulmalek was on his way to visit his family in Sana’a from USA via Aden International Airport.
The numbers of abductions have escalated during the past few days due to protests carried out by civilians.
In Ma’rib and Taiz, 6 civilians have been arrested by the government security forces, only to release 3 of them. Moreover, the Joint Resistance Forces at the West Coast have arrested 10 civilians and only released 4 of them. Lately, the joint security forces have arrested Hasan Ali Al-Emad while traveling from Iran to Sana’a in a family visit. He has been forcibly disappeared since his arrest.
By paying a little attention of to the figures above, it can be concluded that the fears we held of continuing abductions by different parties, and using unlawful justifications to restrain civilians’ liberties has escalated which would eventually lead to threatening peace and harmony. It contradicted our calls to deal with the abductees’ case as a humanitarian case, separating it from political and military bargains.
As the new UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen has been recently appointed, and determined efforts carried out the US Special Envoy for Yemen continue, we extend our recommendations and demands as follow;
1. To separate the case of abducted civilians from war prisoners.
2. To release all abducted, arbitrarily arrested, and forcibly disappeared civilians held by all parties that signed Stockholm Agreement and Riyadh Agreement, as a step towards trust-building and returning to negotiations in order to build fair peace.
3. To implement various strategies and mechanisms, besides the ones of Stockholm Agreement and Riyadh Agreement, to released abducted civilians.
4. To achieve justice on behalf of the victims of abduction and arbitrary arrest, and to compensate them.
5. To provide the necessary rehabilitation programs, physically and psychologically, for abductees and detainees, in parallel with their release.
6. To coordinate the efforts of national, regional and international mediators and influencers.
Issued by Abductees’ Mothers Association.
September 20th, 2021.