Coinciding with the International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearance, the Yemeni Organization for Prisoners and Abductees published an annual report describing cases of torture leading to death in Houthi militia detention centers.

In a press convention held at the organization's headquarters, the organization's secretary general, Samir al-Dhabyani, welcomed the attendees, all journalists and media professionals who gathered to cover the event of announcing the human rights report.

The Executive Director of the organization, Nasser Ibrahim, spoke about the human rights report and the role of field teams in the procedure of tracking and monitoring all violations.

The documentary report entitled (In the Dark), September 2014 to December 2021, covered a brief presentation of the torture and detention sites.

According to statistics monitored and recorded by the Yemeni Organization for Prisoners and Abductees, there are 641 prisons run by the Houthis, including 230 official prisons seized by the militias and 111 secret prisons established by the Houthi militias inside the basements of military sites and civilian buildings such as ministries and public administrations.

According to the report, the Capital Municipality ranked first with 110 torture and detention centers, followed by Ibb governorate with 91 detainees, then Hudaydah governorate with 78 centers, not to mention there are many detention centers in the rest of the governorates. According to the report, these centers do not meet the minimum international and country-wide standards required in terms of hygiene, good ventilation, severe shortages of food, water, basic needs and providing the necessary health care.

The report of the Yemeni Organization for Prisoners and Abductees revealed that there are many prisons and detention centers in Houthi-controlled areas. In these prisons, there are thousands of opponents and activists who resist the group and various types of torture and serious violations are committed against them.

The Yemeni Organization for Detainees and Abductees team managed to document 17,638 cases of bodily and psychological torture, affecting 587 young people and 150 women. The Capital Municipality ranked first in terms of the number of torture victims with 2,600, followed by Sana’a governorate with 2489, Al-Baydha with 1643, Ibb with 1544, Dhamar with 1541 and then the rest of the governorates.

The torture lasts more than 24 hours and takes many forms, such as bodily and psychological torture, hanging limbs with iron chains, electric shocks and extreme beatings with rifle butts. The organization’s team has monitored and documented 178 cases of torture that led to death, including 10 children and 3 women, in addition to 16 cases of death resulting from deliberate medical negligence. The organization’s team received news of the death of 27 prisoners who had been released from prisons and detention centers of the Houthi militia, including 8 from Amanat Al-Asimah, 6 from Taiz, 3 from Amran and 10 from the rest of the governorates.

The press conference witnessed testimonies of people - who were abducted and forcibly disappeared who were released in a prisoner exchange through local mediation - in which they have revealed to the public all kinds of violations and crimes they were subjected to during prison periods.