SAM Calls on the Houthi Group to Hand over the Body of the Prisoner Yasser Al-Sufyani and Calls for an Impartial Investigation into the Circumstances of his Death inside its Prisons
  • 24/10/2022
  •  https://samrl.org/l?e4635 
    SAM |

    Geneva – “SAM” Organization for Rights and Liberties said that the death of the prisoner "Yasser Al-Sufyani" in the prisons of the Houthi group requires a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances and the reasons that led to his death, in addition to investigating the poor conditions of prisoners in the prisons of the Houthi group after it documented disturbing violations against former prisoners in the prisons of the Houthi group, especially the Central Security Prison in the capital, Sana’a.

    The organization said in a statement issued today, Monday, that it had obtained reports from the relatives of the prisoner, "Yasser Al-Sufyani", about receiving news of his death in one of the Houthi prisons as his brother said in a testimony to the SAM team, “My brother Yasser was captured on March 01, 2020, and we did not know anything about him for eight months from that date. Then he contacted us and told us that he was in the central prison in Sana’a.” He added, “We made sure he was there by people who came out of the central prison as they confirmed to us the presence of my brother in the ward number 26."

    He pointed out, “My brother was communicating with us so that we sent him the expenses as the last contact with him was on September 23, 2022. Three days later, we received information about my brother’s death without knowing the cause of death. We were told that Yasser’s body was in the Police Hospital in Sana’a. We have not been able to receive it until this moment.”

    He concluded his testimony by emphasizing, “I contacted several local human rights bodies in Taiz, and they reached out to the lawyer in Sana'a who assured them that my brother had died. Also, Abductees’ Mothers Association confirmed to us the news of the death, and one of the prison supervisors told me that my brother had died on 09/26/2022, at 11:00 p.m. When I asked him about the cause of death, he said it was an angina.”

    In turn, "SAM" stressed that the escalation of violations against the prisoners is worrying and dangerous, especially the violations against the prisoners of the so-called (the battle of the Jabara), who have turned into a neglected and forgotten case since 2018, leaving behind the pain of the prisoners’ families who are asking about the fate of their relatives.

    The human rights organization also stresses that the testimonies it heard about these violations raises many concerns about the fate of more than 2,000 captives who were taken by the Houthi militia since the end of 2018 during what was called the battle of the Jabara family. Many of these captives are subjected to inhumane treatment in the detention centers of the Central Security Forces in the capital, Sana'a after their transfer from Saada.

    The exclusive information collected by “SAM” revealed that there are more than 1,000 detainees whose fate is still unknown, and since the date of their disappearance in the battle of Al Jbara, the families have not obtained any information about them or the conditions of their detention, either from the Southern Border Brigades command directly affiliated to the Saudi Ministry of Defense or from the Houthi group.

    “SAM” concluded its statement by emphasizing the need for the Houthi group to hand over the body of the prisoner, "Yasser Al-Sufyani" to his family and to investigate the circumstances of his death inside the prison, noting the possibility of his death due to the serious violations and practices that prisoners in Houthi prisons are subjected to.

    The organization also called on the international community with all its components, especially the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Red Cross, to assume their duties in protecting the rights of civilians, in particular the Yemeni prisoners, calling for a serious and urgent investigation into the dangerous practices that detainees are exposed to in prisons run by the Houthi group, working to close them and ensuring that perpetrators of violations against Yemenis are brought to justice.


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