LONDON: The Human Rights Watch on Wednesday demanded Houthi authorities in Yemen to release dozens of people including UN and NGO staff members arrested and forcibly disappeared since May.
The group in a report, said the Houthis have forcibly disappeared Yemenis, including at least 13 UN staff, as part of a broader crackdown on civil society.
“The arbitrary arrests appear to be based on the detainees’ present or past employment,” HRW added.
Houthi forces began arresting employees of several NGOs, raiding houses and offices since May 31. According to one source more than 60 people had been detained as of June 12.
HRW said Houthi forces in all cases arrived unannounced at the homes of those they were trying to arrest with several armoured vehicles.
It said no search or arrest warrants were shown in any of the cases and Houthi forces have dismissed requests from family members asking for the whereabouts of their loved ones.
However, from June 10, Houthi authorities started releasing a series of videos showing Yemeni men arrested between 2021 and 2023 confessing to spying for the US and Israel. HRW said there is a high risk that the detainees were forced to make confessions.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk have also called on the Houthis to free all UN and NGO staff. Many people in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen have fled since the start of the raids in May.
The HRW said since 2014, the Houthis have forcibly disappeared and detained hundreds of people, warning that the group regularly tortures detainees.
The NGO stated the Houthis have also conducted significant violations of women’s rights and freedoms, and have arrested dozens of journalists, academics, human rights defenders and political opponents.
