The Abductees’ Mothers Association strongly condemns and denounces in the strongest terms the escalation carried out by the Houthi group against a number of detainees and United Nations employees in Sana’a, and their referral to the prosecution and the Specialized Criminal Court following prolonged periods of arbitrary detention, amid deteriorating health conditions for some of them and the denial of their most basic legal and human rights, including the right to legal representation and a fair trial.
These measures come in the context of a wide-ranging campaign of arrests targeting UN employees as well as humanitarian and human rights workers. According to Human Rights Watch, the campaign has resulted in the detention of 73 UN employees, in addition to dozens of employees and workers from civil society organizations. This raises grave concerns about the safety of humanitarian and human rights workers and threatens their ability to carry out their duties amid the difficult humanitarian conditions facing the country.
The Association has received information indicating that four detainees—Asim Al-Eshari, public health expert Dr. Ali Al-Mudwahi, Labib Shaif, and Murad Dhafer—have been referred to the Specialized Criminal Court in Sana’a, where their first hearing was held without lawyers present to defend them. This constitutes a clear violation of fair-trial guarantees and raises serious concerns about the integrity of the proceedings and the charges brought against them.
The Association also condemns the referral of Sami Al-Kulabi, an employee at the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, to the Specialized Criminal Prosecution. He was arrested by the Houthi group’s Security and Intelligence Service in June 2024, and his health deteriorated during his detention. He suffers from cancer and requires regular and continuous medical care.
The Association stresses that transferring a sick detainee from prison to an oncology center to receive treatment doses and then returning him to prison cannot be considered a substitute for providing the necessary medical care or ensuring his right to receive treatment in safe and humane conditions. This is in addition to his right to freedom and a fair trial.
Regarding public health expert Dr. Ali Al-Mudwahi, the Association confirms that his family contacted him directly and verified the information circulating about the conditions of his detention and the suffering he has endured. The family also emphasized the importance of supporting his case and that of his fellow detainees and calling for their release.
According to an account conveyed by Dr. Ali’s wife, based on what he told her during limited and widely spaced communications, he was subjected to harsh detention conditions and has been held in an underground cell for a prolonged period. He also reported being subjected to torture and pressure to force him to make confessions to acts he had not committed, as well as being denied the right to meet with a lawyer and defend himself.
The Association expresses grave concern over these accounts and stresses that confessions extracted through coercion or torture, detention without legal safeguards, and denial of the right to legal defense cannot constitute the basis for justice or a fair trial. It further emphasizes that full responsibility for the safety and health of detainees rests with the authority holding them.
While condemning these violations, the Abductees’ Mothers Association holds the Houthi group fully responsible for the lives and safety of Dr. Ali Al-Mudwahi, Sami Al-Kulabi, Asim Al-Eshari, Labib Shaif, Murad Dhafer, and all other detainees in its custody. The Association renews its demands for:
The immediate and unconditional release of all detainees whose detention is not based on fair and lawful procedures.
An end to trial proceedings that lack fair-trial guarantees, and ensuring that detainees have their full right to a defense and access to lawyers.
The provision of urgent and appropriate medical care to sick detainees, and an end to the use of medical treatment or illness as a means of exerting pressure on them.
Disclosure of the conditions and whereabouts of all detainees and allowing their families and lawyers to communicate with them and check on their safety.
An independent and impartial investigation into allegations of torture, ill-treatment, and the extraction of confessions under coercion, with those responsible held accountable.
The Association calls on the United Nations, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, the international community, and human rights organizations to take a clear and urgent position regarding these violations and to exert all possible pressure to secure the release of UN employees and other detainees, protect their lives and safety, and prevent the detainee file from being turned into a tool for retaliation or political blackmail.
The continued detention of people for years, followed by their referral to trial without legal safeguards, does not deliver justice. Rather, it compounds the suffering of victims and their families and further undermines what remains of public confidence in the justice system and human rights.
Issued by the Abductees’ Mothers Association
25 August 2026