Geneva - SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties said that armed Houthi elements stormed yesterday, Sunday, June 9, a factory belonging to the Modern Pharmaceutical Company and the Global Pharmaceutical Industries Company in Beit Azran, Sana'a, and arrested six managers and employees. They also stormed the branches of the two companies in the governorates of Amran and Dhamar, under the directives of the new judicial guardian, Saleh Debish. This incident reflects the extent of the arbitrary actions and harassment that the private sector is subjected to in areas under Houthi control.

According to a source from the pharmaceutical company, the arrested individuals include: Dr. Fahim Al-Khalidi, the Deputy General Manager, Mukhtar Al-Makhlafi, the Human Resources Manager, Abdullah Sharaf, the Sales Manager, Fatima Eishan, the Procurement Manager, Engineer Abdulkhaliq Al-Gholi (arrested on May 31), Dr. Safwan Al-Aghbari, Engineer Abdulmajeed Qashnoon, the Maintenance Manager at the Global Pharmaceutical Industries Company, and Mohamed Al-Ma'amari, the Fund Manager.

According to the source, the armed men arrested Fatima Eishan from her home, taking her away from her children. They interrogated her at the factory and then took her to the prison of the new judicial guardian. She is now being held in detention on the orders of the judicial guardian.

Brigadier Saleh Dabish is considered the new financial arm of the group, succeeding Saleh Al-Shayari who was granted the rank of major. Dabish is in his 30s and is from Saada. He previously worked in the national security apparatus, and is currently responsible for looting numerous private funds and private sector companies, managing them financially on behalf of the Houthi group, and using these resources to finance the group's various activities.

The source confirmed that the company has a license from the Supreme Health Authority under the Ministry of Health, adding: all our affairs are legal, we pay taxes and zakat, and the annual fee of the judicial guardian, which ranges between $180,000 to $200,000. The sources indicated that the militia forced one of the two companies to pay the profits of 4 shareholders over the past 7 years, while the profits of these shareholders seized by the Houthis during 2022 alone amounted to $240,000, which is 13% of the company's total profits.

The source pointed out that the problem started after the appointment of the new guardian, who tried in October 2022 to take the company's private server containing its information. He noted that the problem with the judicial guardian has been going on for about seven years, as an order had been issued. The board of directors met and decided that instead of confronting it in the courts, they would hand over an agreed-upon percentage of 13%. This understanding was verbal with Saleh Al-Sha'er, the previous judicial guardian. However, after the appointment of the new guardian three or four years ago, he came with a new order and wanted to raise the percentage, but we refused and told him that if there were any new documents, he should bring them.

The source mentioned that there are four names of partners who say they have a court ruling from the judicial guardian, stipulating that their profits from the pharmaceutical company should be handed over to the judicial guardian. He continued: In fact, we have been handing over these amounts for the past six years, and now he wants to add new names. He had tried before, but he did not have a court ruling or a judicial document.

According to the source, the judicial guardian remained unconvinced by the percentage being paid to them, which is part of the profits of four shareholders. The source noted that they told him they cannot increase the percentage, as these are the funds of the shareholders. However, the new judicial guardian claims there is a lack of transparency, despite the fact that they have official permits, hold an annual general assembly meeting attended by the representative of the judicial guardian, the representative of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and the legal accountant. Based on this, they hand over their percentage, but the guardian is not satisfied and wants a larger percentage.

Based on the source's conversation with Sam, there would be significant damages if the two companies are shut down and their factories are stopped. For one, all the stored products in the incubators for about a year would be destroyed due to the conditions they are exposed to, which would cause them to fall out of the globally approved specifications. This would require re-conducting studies and preparing new samples, in addition to the massive losses incurred from the previous analyses that were carried out.

The source further pointed out that most of the products are new and their raw materials are difficult to obtain. Therefore, the closure would lead to a delay of over a year in completing the studies, production, and registration of these products. Additionally, the products that were previously registered and had obligations to the Supreme Pharmaceutical Authority to complete, will also be delayed in fulfilling those commitments. Furthermore, the research being conducted to determine the validity of the products' shelf life would be delayed, and the ability to extend their shelf life in line with other commercial products would be hindered.

The source warned that shutting down the factory and generators would lead to the water treatment unit stopping, which would result in its contamination. Rehabilitating and sterilizing the unit to get rid of the contamination would take weeks or even months, as the water is linked to all the manufacturing processes and is a raw material that is susceptible to contamination if the unit is stopped.

Sam considered the Houthi group's practices to be in violation of the law and without any justification. She viewed them as a serious violation of fundamental human rights, including the right to property, which is guaranteed by national and international laws. Sam warned that the Houthi group's continued targeting of the private sector and suppression of investors portends catastrophic consequences for the national economy. It disrupts public resources like taxes and zakat, as well as social benefits of public interest, by diverting the proceeds to armed factions to finance their military operations and/or the interests of their leadership.

Tawfiq Al Hamidi, the president of the SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties, stated that what the Houthi group is practicing under the pretext of a "judicial guardian" is a form of organized theft according to the law. This, he said, reflects the Houthi group's disregard and addiction to the policy of extortion and looting without any moral or humanitarian scruples.

He added that the continuation of these practices threatens Yemen's economic and health security, and increases the suffering of citizens who depend on these companies to obtain medicines and medical services. He stressed that the international community must fulfill its responsibilities in protecting human rights and putting pressure on all parties to comply with international law and provide a safe environment for economic and commercial activity in Yemen.

SAM emphasized that the predatory policy adopted by the Houthi group under the guise of the "judicial guardian" intersects with the war economy and money laundering. This involves fraud, looting, extortion, and deliberate violence to seize profitable assets, investing the stolen money in tradable activities, and exploiting the workforce in the looted properties.

The organization indicated that it had issued an investigative report in February 2022 titled "The Feudalism of the Guardian and the Deception Machine", which revealed the looting and control operations of private properties over the past seven years, using armed force, the judicial guardian, and the judiciary.

According to the report, the "judicial guardian" affiliated with the Houthi group has seized more than $1.7 billion worth of funds, companies, institutions, and associations. The total funds, revenues, and seized assets, including real estate and movable properties, exceeded $2 billion.

The report compiled the names of more than 38 major companies, institutions, universities, and hospitals in the capital Sana'a alone that were seized by the judicial guardian, and/or are being managed, confiscated, or placed under guardianship by the Houthi group. These companies and institutions have dozens of branches, centers, and units in the governorates under the group's control.

According to SAM, the Houthi group must abide by Yemeni law and stop looting the properties of civilians and merchants. The looting of funds is a form of theft prohibited by international human rights law. Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states the right of every individual to own property and prohibits arbitrary deprivation of property. The 2004 Arab Charter on Human Rights, in Article 25, also guarantees the right to property and prohibits the confiscation of funds in an arbitrary or unlawful manner under any circumstances.

International humanitarian law considers the confiscation of funds to be a violation of the right to property. Article 4(2,g) of the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts states that acts of "pillage against persons" are prohibited at all times and in all places. Moreover, rules 52 and 50 of the study by the International Committee of the Red Cross on customary international humanitarian law, prohibit the destruction or seizure of the enemy's property, unless imperatively demanded by the necessities of war.

Under the Statute of the International Criminal Court, "the pillage of a town or place, even when taken by assault" constitutes a war crime in non-international armed conflicts.