On Thursday, October 3rd, SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties released a human rights report documenting new chapters of findings from investigative research conducted by the organization's team on crimes of enforced disappearance and torture of political detainees in Yemen.
The investigative report, "Years of Hell," is part of the Justice Monitoring Project for Advocacy, Legal Reform, and Human Rights in Yemen. This project aims to document human rights violations during the war period in the country to raise awareness about the human rights situation and protect rights by empowering Yemeni civil society to advocate for justice and promote accountability.
SAM documented 32 violations of personal freedoms in the governorates of Sana'a and Aden during the conflict period from 2015 to 2023. All victims were civilians who suffered arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture. The organization relied primarily on field interviews with victims and their families for documentation, in addition to monitoring relevant information published through reliable media outlets and social media platforms.
The organization noted that the documented cases of detention, disappearance, and torture shared several characteristics. They were politically motivated, followed similar patterns, occurred without judicial orders, and victims were not informed of the reasons for their arrest. Victims were forcibly disappeared in the first days or months after arrest and faced similar charges, with investigations focusing on allegations of belonging to the Islah Party, espionage, working for the "Arab coalition," and some accused of disturbing public peace due to their writings. Additionally, victims were deprived of rights, including family visits and access to legal defense. Most had their properties looted and confiscated, confirming a clear methodology in practicing enforced disappearance as a form of psychological torture, in violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law obligations.
The report stated that the Ansar Allah group (Houthis) is responsible for 88% of the 32 cases documented by the project, including political and non-political detainees targeted by the report. They are responsible for most crimes of enforced disappearance and torture suffered by detainees with political ties to Yemeni parties.
According to testimonies collected by the organization's team, most detained victims were questioned during interrogation about their political affiliations and ideological orientations. These questions were repeated throughout the investigation stages, using various methods and forms of psychological and physical torture. After extracting "confessions under torture" from detainees, these are adopted and transferred to judicial authorities as a basis for attributing charges to victims, leading to court proceedings and judicial rulings based on fabricated charges resulting from the victim's political and intellectual positions.
Victim testimonies documented by the organization's team confirm that both conflict parties used cruel torture methods in detention centers in Sana'a and Aden. These methods were repetitive and systematic, causing physical and psychological pain to victims to achieve results from torture and extract evidence. The physical and psychological effects persisted after victims' release, including chronic diseases and difficult psychological conditions, due to medical neglect in detention centers lacking health care and first aid equipment, according to detainee testimonies.
The report concluded that conflict parties in Yemen followed common torture methods in detention centers, characterized by repetition in most incidents. These included beating with sticks, metal batons, and electric wires all over the body; forcing victims to stand on tiptoes for long periods, some up to 24 hours; shackling feet with metal chains during interrogation; handcuffing for long periods with blindfolding; kicking and slapping the face; deprivation of water and food (starvation) for long periods; pouring cold water on the body and exposing it to severe cold; preventing access to toilets and denying exposure to sunlight or access to medicines; and continuous transfer between different prisons and narrow cells filled with filth, epidemics, and insects. Additionally, Houthi leaders looted victims' families' money by deceiving them with false promises of release.
The report also highlighted the campaign of arbitrary arrests targeting numerous Yemeni employees working for UN agencies and international and local NGOs in Sana'a since May 31, 2024. This campaign, described as the first of its kind in Yemen, directly threatens humanitarian efforts and civil society work in the country. Recent arrests have intensified incitement against aid workers and civil society, with public campaigns and hotlines urging citizens to report "suspicious activities." This campaign threatens the safety and operations of humanitarian efforts in Yemen, with the possibility of more arrests looming on the horizon.
SAM Organization noted that the crimes of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture have been a methodology followed for decades by conflict parties in Yemen to suppress opponents, silence voices opposing authorities' orientations, spread fear in society, and impose a de facto situation by force of arms. This has resulted in reducing the margin of freedoms, especially political freedoms and freedom of opinion, violating fundamental rights, particularly the right to life and personal safety, and inflicting great suffering on victims and their families from the first moments of arrest.
The effects of enforced disappearance and torture extend beyond the victim to their families, who live in a constant state of anxiety and anticipation. They make persistent and nearly impossible attempts to access information about their forcibly disappeared children and relatives or learn their fate, due to the lack of transparency from the violating parties. Families often find themselves facing financial pressures and challenges resulting from search costs and continuous attempts to obtain any information, in addition to fraud operations by influential individuals. All of this adds to the heavy financial burdens on families to meet necessary living needs due to the disappearance of the breadwinner, threatening their material, psychological, and social stability.
SAM Organization explained that biased judicial procedures constitute a serious violation of human rights in Yemen. All trials documented by SAM conducted by judicial authorities under Houthi group control are based on dubious accusations and lack any legal procedures guaranteed by the constitution and law for victims. They are based on political and ideological motives and primarily aim to silence voices and limit criticism of the group and its leaders. Regardless of the extent of these practices, they have never been a guarantee or entry point for political stability in society. On the contrary, these violations have led to social tensions, increased hatred, and expanded hostility between supporters of conflict parties.
The report confirmed that law enforcement institutions in Yemen, including the judiciary, are among the most prominent institutions affected by the war. They have been subjected to sharp polarization that has undermined the sanctity and independence of the judiciary. Each authority in Yemen has formed its own judicial council, supreme court, and ministry of justice, in addition to appointing an attorney general and judges for the Higher Institute of Judiciary. These institutions have become more failed and fragile in meeting fair trial standards and have turned into tools of conflict and means of revenge against opponents. This was evident in the number of death sentences issued by specialized criminal courts in terrorism and state security cases against opponents, which, according to SAM's statistics, reached more than 550 death sentences by courts affiliated with the Houthi group.
According to the report's recommendations, SAM called on the Yemeni government to conduct a transparent, comprehensive, and impartial investigation into allegations of human rights violations, including political detention, enforced disappearance, and torture. The organization also called for ensuring full and unhindered access for international and independent observers to Yemeni territories, including prisons and detention centers run by Southern Transitional Council forces, the Houthi group, and various security and military formations. It urged the establishment of strong monitoring mechanisms to oversee the conduct of all security and military forces and armed formations, and the necessity of holding those responsible for these violations accountable through fair and transparent trials.
The organization added that victims of illegal practices and their families are waiting for guaranteed access to remedies, including compensation, restitution, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition throughout Yemen. It emphasized that any settlement or peace process being negotiated should include effective participation of victims and survivors and address their rights to justice fairly and equitably. Additionally, these settlements should include clear steps to achieve transitional justice requirements, including necessary compensatory measures.