SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties called today, Saturday, July 25, 2020, the legitimate Yemeni government to establish an independent civil body concerned with the affairs of arbitrary detainees and those forcibly disappeared, and pointed to the living, psychological and social suffering of the detainees' families.

The Geneva-based organization SAM said that the time has come to give the arbitrary detainees and forcibly disappeared people on political grounds a special humanitarian priority, away from political manipulation, in light of the increasing numbers of detainees and the poor health and psychological conditions experienced by detainees at the parties to the conflict, especially the Houthis group.

The statement indicated that the prisons of the warring parties in Yemen contain thousands of detainees, distributed in more than 300 detainees, including 700 forcibly disappeared. The organization said that the number of deaths under torture exceeds 240, in addition to the fact that most of the detainees suffer from diseases. In its report, "Slow Death", the organization documented 40 detainees in Sana'a prisons under the control of Houthis group, some of whom had sustained chronicle diseases, and the organization documented the death of more than 200 due to the bombing of prisons and detention centers.

The statement pointed out that the families of the detainees suffer from severe psychological conditions, especially with the approaching of holidays and public occasions in which they feel the severity of separation and unaffordability to meet the requirements of living conditions, high prices and the cruelty of children celebrating Eid while their loved ones are behind bars.

SAM president, Tawfiq Al-Humeidi said in a statement, "The issue of the detainees is no longer a legal issue, rather it became a complex issue in which we share the human, psychological, health and social aspect, and it is unacceptable to stop releasing the detainee, rather, it must continue until the released detainees return to their previous normal life before detention, this requires a concerted, multidisciplinary institutional effort."

Al-Humeidi indicated that many of the cases that the organization documented for released detainees required the establishment of such a body to work in accordance with legal, psychological and social mechanisms to rehabilitate detainees psychologically, healthily and socially, as a result of the cruel treatment and torture they were subjected to.

The statement added that the people in Aden are suffering a tragic situation due to the lack of any information on the fate of 40 arbitrary detainees who were forcibly disappeared by the Arab coalition forces and others operating directly under the supervision of the United Arab Emirates for more than three years, with conflicting reports about their fate indicating their physical liquidation and death under torture and transfer to prisons outside Yemen or in remote islands.

The organization's statement said that the proposed body should address all those arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared, including detainees from the southern border of Saudi Arabia.

The organization noted that the proposed body should be financially and administratively independent and works to care for the families of detainees and rehabilitate the detainees after their release, and coordinates societal and human rights efforts to release the remaining detainees and forcibly disappeared because of this war whose end is unknown.

It also called on the parties to take advantage of the blessed Eid Al-Adha and release arbitrary detainees, opponents and activists, and to provide an opportunity for Yemeni families to reunite with their relatives and sons in prisons in line with the meanings of the amnesty and tolerance that Eid al-Adha carries.

SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties - Geneva

July 25, 2020