The Abductees’ Mothers Association expresses deep concern over the Houthi group’s continued issuance of unlawful judicial rulings against journalists, activists, and businessmen, part of a dangerous pattern that clearly reflects ongoing violations of fundamental principles of justice and human rights.
On September 20, 2024, the Houthi group abducted journalist Mohammed Dabwan Al-Mayahi after storming his home in the capital, Sana’a. This came in response to social media posts in which he expressed his views on the group’s treatment of citizens. After months of enforced disappearance, a court under Houthi control issued an unjust ruling, sentencing him to one and a half years in prison. He was also required to sign a written pledge, provide a financial guarantee of five million Yemeni riyals, and was criminalized simply for exercising his legitimate right to freedom of expression.
Similarly, the Houthi group issued a ruling against Engineer Adnan Al-Harazi, who has been held since January 2023. Al-Harazi is the director of Prodigy, a company engaged in monitoring humanitarian work and trusted by international organizations. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and his personal assets and company holdings were confiscated, all without fair legal procedures or clear evidence, in blatant violation of national laws and international standards for fair trials.
We at the Abductees’ Mothers Association strongly condemn these unjust sentences and view them as part of a systematic campaign to silence free voices and suppress civil liberties. We hold the Houthi group fully responsible for the psychological and physical abuses inflicted on the abductees.
We call on the international community, United Nations agencies, and human rights organizations to exert genuine and sustained pressure on the Houthi group to secure the immediate and unconditional release of journalist Mohammed Dabwan Al-Mayahi, Engineer Adnan Al-Harazi, and all those who have been abducted or forcibly disappeared. Urgent action is needed to end these violations and uphold international humanitarian law.
Silence in the face of these ongoing abuses amounts to indirect complicity in the prolonged suffering of the abductees and their families, and undermines the prospects for a just peace in Yemen.
Issued by:
Abductees’ Mothers Association
Sunday, May 25, 2025