The Houthi coup militia practiced heinous crimes and violations against the leaders and members of the Yemeni Islah Party in Saada governorate. It has practiced various methods of narrowing, exclusion and repression with the aim of retaliation against the Islah Party, as it is one of the most prominent opponents of the rebellion projects against the state, and is the most organized and popular in the Yemeni street.

And prior to the rebellion of the Houthis in Saada, which is the headquarters of their stronghold in northern Yemen, their leader's voice was dominant, and no one dared to oppose him in this governorate. Saada has received the largest share of this gang's crimes. And these crimes represented in displacing thousands of its residents, destroying hundreds of houses and persecuting many people by the Houthis.

In the following report, we will shed light on some of the violations committed by the Houthi coup militia in Sa'ada governorate and statistics on its crimes against the Islah Party and its leaders and institutions in the governorate.

- Houthi violations against Islah party in Saada

In special statements by Mr. Saleh Mahfal, head of the Information Department of the Yemeni Islah Party in Saada governorate, in which he talked about the violations committed by the Houthi coup militia in the governorate against the Islah party, saying: "The leaders and members of the Islah Party have subjected to terrorism, revenge, abuse and displacement by Houthi militias in Saada governorate and continuously during the six years of war to the point that there was a violation or a crime committed every day against the members of the Islah in the governorate."

- Saada is a cemetery for any opponent to the militia

Concerning the silencing of free anti-Houthi voices, Mr. Saleh Mahfal says: "The Houthi militias' first goal, during their control on any area or directorate, was the youth of Islah Party, starting with storming the headquarters and looting their contents, as happened in Haydan and Saqayn directorates, because they are the first directorates that Houthi militias have been able to control."

He added: "Houthi militias in Saada governorate worked to storm the headquarters and abduct a number of young people, torture and keep them away from their families for several months and prevent any voice of the Islah or opposition to the Houthi. And violations and crimes continued in the directorates of the governorate, also the Center of the Governorate was stormed."

- Practicing looting, exclusion and harassment against Islahis

The head of the Information Department of the Yemeni Islah Party in Saada affirms that "the criminal Houthi militia stormed the center of the Directorate of Baqim and the first thing it did was to blow up the headquarters of the Islah Party and loot its contents, as well as the militias took advantage of the Awkaf Office (Office of Endowment) in the governorate to control the real estate of the Endowments."

buildings, but it was controlled under illegal pretenses. The militias have threatened citizens in Saada governorate not to hire buildings to Islahis, prevented employees belonging to Islah Party from doing their jobs and assigned Houthi elements instead."

 - In the era of the militia, political pluralism ended

In special statements, the leader of the Islah Party in Saada, Saleh Mahfal, says that "the Houthi militia has eliminated political pluralism and prevented the practice of partisan action. And since the beginning of their coup against the legitimacy, this militia was working in Saada governorate to raid hundreds of houses of Islah youth, threatening and warning them against practicing any partisan action, and they had said: Partisanship is forbidden. Saying is al-Sayyid's saying, and the opinion is his opinion."

He added, “The Houthis forcibly displaced hundreds of Islahis and prevented them from visiting their parents and families for many years." In such cases, the family's exit to Amran or Sana'a to visit its son was the closest solution.

Mahfal said, "In Sa'ada governorate, the Houthis abducted the secretary of the Executive Office of Islah party, Sheikh Ali bin Ghayb Zaid, may God have mercy on him, and they did not have mercy on him because of his old age and he was kept in solitary confinement for several days. And the sheiks, chiefs of neighborhoods and politicians in the governorate condemned this crime at the time."

In a previous article by the head of the Social Department of the Islah Party in Saada governorate, Sheikh Hadi Tarshan al-Waeli, about the harassment and violations suffered by the party in the governorate, Waeli said: "Islah Party will remain a towering party like Saada's towering mountains: Dalaan, Anam, al-Makhruk, al-Damegh, Barash, Badhii, Harum, etc. Islah Party will remain as long as its valleys remain: Wadi Aal Jubara, Wadi Madhab, Wadi Badr, Wadi Allaf, Wadi Amlah, Wadi Nashour. Islah will remain as long as Rahban, Dhahyan and Jeefan remain, as well as (Ty Karhad) in Haidan, (Amjalah) in Qataber, (al-Hahjra) in Falla, (al-Khazayin and al-Habs) in Sahar, (Umm al-Ryah) in Hamdan and (Haynamah) in Razih."

He added: "Islah will remain a pure white flag no matter how Houthi tries to stain it. Islah Party will remain a fragrant smell no matter how Houthi tries to push it away from people or push people away from it, its fragrant smell reaches them and they inhale it with enjoyment and eagerness. The Islah Party will remain delicious to be tasted by Saada's sons, such as the delight of pomegranate of al-Khazmi, the delight of grapes of al-Auwayri, the delight of the peach of Rahban, the delight of the summer prickly pear Fig and the delight of the al-Aallani coffee. Despite the inhumane practices of the Houthis, the Islah Party in Saada will remain a title for peace despite suffering and wounds. The Islah Party will be patient, patient and patient so that the patience gets bored from his patience.

- The property of Islahis

Among the violations committed against the property of members and leaders of the party in the governorate of Saada, the head of the Information Department in the governorate confirmed that the Houthi militia took control of the homes and farms of Islahis and looted their shops. Also it formed trained gangs to attack the Islahis in their villages under any pretext and kill them among their families and terrorizing the people in general.

In March 2016, the Houthi militia seized the house of the head of the Islah Party in Saada and turned it into a headquarters for its members. During the Houthi militia wars since its advance in the Dammaj war, its gunmen stormed and controlled the homes of their opponents, blew them up, and bombed places of worship.

- Heinous crimes

As for the violations and torture members and leaders of the Islah Party subjected to in Saada, the leader of the Islah in Saada Saleh Mahfal says, "The Houthi militia assaulted many preachers of mosques in the governorate and beat them with rifle butts, and it abducted them and concealed them."

He mentioned that "one of the types of torture is that the militias deliberately insult the wives of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) and his Companions and ridicule them out loud until the abducted heard, and also convey to the abducted false news about their families to intimidate and terrorize, and imprison them in cold places, and prevent them from eating, water and bedding, they were giving them dry bread that was left for several days."

Mahfal went on to say, "Hundreds of Islah youths were abducted from their shops, mosques, roads or markets for months and tortured in prisons with severe beatings until they fainted. We worked to help many Islah's youths after they went to hospitals in the capital and presented their cases to the politicians, leaders of parties and international organizations, but unfortunately, the interaction was not up to the level of the event."

Warning of Houthi crimes

The head of the Information Department of the Yemeni Islah Party in Saada governorate said that Islah warned of the seriousness and crimes of the Houthis and their coup from an early time, and said, "We appealed to everyone and warned every one of the danger of the Houthi militias' thought and that they are trying to overthrow the capital and seize the regime, but they did not believe us."

He added: "Despite terrorism, oppression and systematic injustice practiced against the Islah, the society in Saada was resisting, rejecting and condemning these violations in many ways and had an impact in reducing them."

- Statistic for the most prominent violations that affected the Islah Party of Saada

Al-Islah website has obtained a special statistics on the violations that have affected the Islah Party and its leaders and institutions in Saada governorate since the beginning of the Houthi militias' rebellion against the state. These violations distributed as follows:

- 150 martyrs.

- 115 wounded.

- 837 abductees were tortured.

- 98 houses were demolished and blown up.

- The bombing of one headquarters for Islah Party.

- Looting furniture of 11 headquarters for Islah Party.

- 115 houses and shops of Islah's leaders and members were looted and seized.

On May 4, 2013, the Yemeni Islah Party in Saada governorate condemned the Houthi armed group's storming on mosques in the governorate and said it revealed the falsehood of Houthi allegations of coexistence, and those mosques were run by Salafis and Islahis in Saada.

In a previous human rights report published by Wethaq Organization in October 2012, the Organization said it had monitored 794 cases of abuses committed by Houthi militias in Saada governorate against civilians since 2004 until 2011, since the military group's appearance in 2004 in Saada governorate. The number of cases of forced displacement reached 5,300 people from Saada.

The Houthis also killed 531 people, all civilians, including 59 children and 48 women, and destroyed and seized 497 homes belonging to citizens.

The report pointed out that the total abducted in Saada governorate reached 47 civilians, who have been forcibly disappeared for years and their families do not know about their fate and the Houthis run 36 prisons in seven Directorates of Saada governorate.

On March 23, 2016, the Yemeni Islah Party condemned the Houthis' execution of 14 abductees in Saada governorate. In a statement, the party said that the coup militia executed 14 abductees after they blew up a house that had been turned it into a prison for a number of people from from Aabdin '' and Gharaz areas in Saada governorate.