The head of Abductees’ Mothers Association, Amat Alsalam Al-Hajj, delivered a speech before the members of the International Security Council on Wednesday, during her briefing on the situation in Yemen regarding the issue of the abductees and forcibly disappeared persons held at Houthi prisons.
Al-Hajj stated that the tragic stories resulting from the war in Yemen are numerous, but the pain and tragedy are greater when discussing one of the most tragic issues, which is the issue of abductees and forcibly disappeared prisoners. They experience loss, deprivation, and suffering, sharing the burdens of separation and the pain of their ordeal with their families, especially the mothers who have lost their sons as a result of abduction and enforced disappearance.
The head of the association emphasized to the Security Council members that those being discussed are civilians who did not participate in the conflict. They were taken from their homes, checkpoints, newly established points, workplaces, universities, and elsewhere.
Al-Hajj spoke about the association’s monitoring, since 2016, of 9,568 civilians who were abducted by various parties to the conflict in Yemen. Houthi armed group is responsible for the majority, with 9,130 cases, including 130 women. Nearly thousands of them suffer from severe psychological conditions and physical disabilities as a result of systematic torture inside Houthi prisons, and 140 cases have been killed under torture or due to medical negligence inside the prisons.
Furthermore, there are still 420 civilians being held captive, and 73 are forcibly hidden, including 13 from the Baha’i community, and the politician Mohammed Qahtan. Additionally, 50 abducted individuals, including three women, are undergoing sham trials by Houthi armed group after being subjected to systematic torture, which was difficult to describe in this brief statement.
Moreover, there are still 97 civilians in the prisons of the Southern Transitional Council, including 61 who have been forcibly disappeared, and 26 detained by the legitimate government, including 3 who have been forcibly disappeared. These numbers have been documented, and there are many more cases on all sides.
The head of the Association called for the final resolution of the issue of the abductees, with a comprehensive exchange, and urged the international community and international human rights institutions to assume their responsibilities and put an end to the suffering of thousands of abductees and forcibly disappeared individuals, and their families. This situation they are going through contradicts the most basic human rights, and violates all international laws and treaties, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention.
