Summary:
SAM for Rights and Liberties is deeply concerned about the serious human rights violations committed by the 4th Mountain Infantry Brigade in Lahj governorate, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and systematic torture. These violations have targeted civilians, including minors, who are held in illegal detention facilities and denied contact with their families. Official documents confirm that more than 23 detainees are being held, with the brigade commander refusing to comply with judicial orders for their release. Testimonies reveal that detainees are subjected to severe physical and psychological torture.
Ongoing Violations and Disregard for Justice
Geneva – SAM for Rights and Liberties is alarmed by the escalation of grave human rights violations committed by the leadership of the 4th Mountain Infantry Brigade in Lahj, where arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, systematic torture, and deprivation of basic rights continue unchecked, with no legal oversight or judicial accountability. These unlawful practices violate the Yemeni Constitution, national laws, and international agreements signed by Yemen, reflecting a pattern of impunity and the deepening crisis of justice in the country.
Arbitrary Arrests and Enforced Disappearances
For over a year and a half, the 4th Mountain Infantry Brigade has conducted random arrest campaigns targeting 25 civilians from the districts of Al-Maqatirah and Al-Shamayatayn, including three minors. These individuals have been detained in illegal facilities, denied contact with their families, and kept imprisoned despite court orders demanding their release or referral to competent legal authorities, according to Masarat Center for Strategy and Media.
SAM has obtained official complaint files, including a series of letters and correspondences addressed to the Military Public Prosecutor in Yemen, detailing the illegal detention of dozens of civilians, including children, by Brigade Commander Abu Bakr Al-Jubouli.
The documents contain urgent appeals from the families of detainees, calling for an immediate investigation into these violations, the prosecution of those responsible, and the unconditional release of detainees. These documents also reveal arbitrary arrests, unlawful home raids, and violent assaults on civilians.
An official document from the Military Prosecutor’s Office (No. 206/24) confirms that the brigade commander is unlawfully detaining over 23 individuals, as recorded in official prison logs and verified by the Military Prosecution Division. The document urges the relevant authorities to take legal action, but these orders remain unimplemented, highlighting complicity within the judicial system.
Victims’ Names and Cases
Among the documented cases in the 4th Brigade’s prisons are minors and civilians who were arbitrarily detained and subjected to severe torture in secret detention facilities.
One case is that of Mohammed Sultan Hamid Mohammed, a 15-year-old boy, who was abducted on December 1, 2023, and falsely accused of involvement in a military vehicle bombing, despite the actual perpetrators being arrested in Yemen’s western coastal region. Even after a judicial order for his release, the brigade leadership refuses to comply, openly defying legal authority.
According to Masarat, the brigade also abducted Naif Sultan Hamid Mohammed (25 years old) on October 17, 2023, under fabricated charges without a fair legal process. He remains detained under inhumane conditions, despite several judicial orders for his release.
The list of illegally detained individuals includes:
1. Mohammed Sultan Hamid Mohammed (15 years old, detained on December 1, 2023)
2. Naif Sultan Hamid Mohammed (25 years old, detained on October 17, 2023)
3. Yasser Al-Nasiri (forcibly disappeared for over a year and a half)
4. Shihab Alwan (forcibly disappeared for over a year and a half)
5. Ahmed Mohammed Sultan Hamid
6. Ahmed Zayed Sultan Hamid
7. Al-Ateil Nasser Murtada
8. Ahmed Abdul Karim
9. Habish Taha Mohammed Tarsh
10. Alwan Shukri Alwan (detained since November 6, 2023)
11. Ghamdan Fahdan Mohammed Moqbel
12. Adel Abdu Ahmed Oun
13. Naqis Sultan Haid
14. Adel Mohammed Ahmed (detained since October 2022, suffers from mental health issues)
15. Nader Murtada Naaman Abdullah (16 years old, arbitrarily detained and handed over to Al-Shamayatayn Security Administration)
16. Hussein Taha Mohammed Tarsh (detained since August 25, 2023, forcibly disappeared)
Torture and Inhumane Treatment
The complaints and documents obtained by SAM confirm that detainees inside the 4th Brigade’s prisons have been subjected to severe physical and psychological torture.
Reports from Al-Ayyam newspaper (January 22, 2025) state that some detainees lost consciousness due to the brutality of their torture sessions, while others were forced to sign false confessions under threats of execution.
Testimonies further reveal that the brigade commander’s brother, Alawi Al-Jubouli, along with several officers, personally oversaw torture sessions, which included:
• Beatings with batons and iron rods
• Electric shocks
• Suspension from hands and feet for hours
According to eyewitness accounts, detainees Yasser Al-Nasiri and Shihab Alwan were brutally beaten until they lost consciousness in September 2023. They were then taken to an unknown location under the pretext of medical care but never returned, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
Legal Violations and Failure to Implement Judicial Orders
SAM has condemned the military prosecution’s failure to investigate torture allegations, highlighting how interrogations were conducted within the same detention centers where the torture occurred, in the presence of the officers responsible for the abuses.
Despite multiple judicial orders demanding the release of detainees or their transfer to legal courts, the brigade commander continues to defy the law, raising serious concerns over the complicity of authorities.
SAM has obtained official correspondence sent to the Deputy Prosecutor of the Fourth Military Region, which includes complaints from detainees’ families demanding urgent action. However, no meaningful investigations have taken place, and detainees remain unlawfully imprisoned.
SAM Condemns the Violations and Calls for Urgent Action
SAM strongly condemns these ongoing human rights abuses, warning that the continued silence of both national and international authorities will only further deteriorate the rule of law in Yemen.
The organization holds the Yemeni government and military authorities fully responsible for these grave violations, urging:
• The immediate and unconditional release of all arbitrarily detained individuals, especially minors
• An independent international investigation into the human rights violations committed by the 4th Mountain Infantry Brigade
• Legal action against all those responsible for arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and acts of torture
• Closure of all illegal detention centers run by the brigade and the transfer of detainees to recognized legal facilities
• Accountability for judicial authorities who failed to act against these violations
SAM also calls on the international community, including the United Nations, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, to intervene immediately and press Yemeni authorities to end these egregious violations and uphold human rights standards.