The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) has documented numerous human rights violations in Yemen over the past two months, committed by various parties involved in the current conflict, including arbitrary arrests of a number of United Nations employees, as well as ongoing violations of the civil and human rights of citizens, including journalists. GCHR is concerned about reports that a journalist was executed and that an educator died in prison.

UN staff detained in Yemen

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned the arbitrary detention by the de facto government in Sana’a, the Houthi group, on 23 January 2025 of seven additional UN staff working in areas under its control.

The UN Secretary-General issued a statement the day after their arrest, which also said, “ I demand the immediate and unconditional release of those detained on Thursday, as well as the personnel from the United Nations, international and national non-governmental organisations, civil society and diplomatic missions arbitrarily detained since June 2024 and those held since 2021 and 2023. Their continued arbitrary detention is unacceptable.”

The UN subsequently announced the suspension of all official movements to and within areas under the control of the de facto authorities in Sana’a until further notice.

In June 2024, the Houthis detained 13 UN staff, including six from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as more than 50 workers from various NGOs and an embassy employee. They have also been holding two other UN staff from November 2021 and August 2023, in addition to two other UN staff who were detained earlier. The Houthis have accused them of being part of a spy network, something the UN has denied.

Online activist Fawzi Ahmed Obaid remains forcibly disappeared

Internet activist Fawzi Ahmed Obaid was arbitrarily arrested on 07 September 2015, in the capital Sana’a, by an armed group affiliated with the Houthi group, who took him to an unknown location. His family tried to search for him with the security forces, including the Criminal Investigation Bureau, but to no avail.

Six months after his arrest, he called his family from a number belonging to the Security and Intelligence Service, informing them that he was being held by them, and that he did not know what charges were being brought against him, as the investigation had not yet begun.

In August 2016, Obaid’s family contacted officials in the Security and Intelligence Service, and after they hired a lawyer, they were given approval to visit him, but when they arrived at the service’s headquarters in Sana’a, the visit was cancelled, which left a bad psychological impact on them.

Since then, nearly 10 years of his detention, his family members, including his elderly mother, have not been allowed to visit him, despite orders issued by the Public Prosecution and the Specialised Criminal Court to allow them to do so. All of the family’s repeated requests submitted to the competent authorities to allow them to visit him or refer his case to court were met with refusal.

Some recently-released detainees have confirmed that Obaid is in a dungeon in an underground cell in a prison run by the Security and Intelligence Service in Sana’a. Local reports confirmed that the reason for his arrest was due to writings he published on his Facebook account, which were deleted after his arrest and the confiscation of his phone.

Journalist Ahmed Maher released

On 18 January 2025, journalist Ahmed Maher posted the following on his Facebook page: “Two and a half years of injustice! Thanks to God Almighty, I left the Security Belt Prison in Aden, Bir Ahmed Prison, this morning, with my acquittal verdict after two and a half years of injustice! I was kidnapped, tortured, forced to make false statements, threatened with my family, they abused me on their channels and pages, they stole my money and electronic devices, they fabricated a false criminal charge against me, an unjust verdict was issued against me…. and God showed my innocence in the Specialised Criminal Court of Appeal in Aden.”

On 25 December 2024, the Specialised Criminal Court of Appeal in Aden acquitted him. Before that the Specialised Criminal Court had sentenced him during an unfair trial to four years in prison, after convicting him of the charges brought against him by the Specialised Criminal Prosecution, namely the charges of publishing false and misleading news, and forging official documents. For more information on his case, see here.

Journalist Mohammed Al-Maqri reportedly executed

GCHR condemns in the strongest terms the reported execution of journalist Mohammed Qaid Al-Maqri by the so-called Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula organisation, which confirmed in a statement published on 29 December 2024 that it had executed him along with 11 other individuals accused of alleged espionage.

However, his family rejected the claims in an explanatory statement issued on 02 January 2025, saying that they had serious doubts about the veracity of the announcement, including that he was even executed.

Al-Maqri was kidnapped on 12 October 2015, while covering a march calling for the departure of this terrorist organisation from the city of Al-Mukalla, the largest city in Hadramaut Governorate, which is currently under the control of the government recognised by the international community.

Journalists behind bars

A number of journalists remain behind bars, despite many years of detention. Among them are the five journalists whose cases are detailed below and which GCHR has previously documented.

Journalist Waheed Al-Sufi

Another journalist who was kidnapped nearly ten years ago remains missing. On 06 April 2015, two armed men in civilian clothes kidnapped journalist Waheed Mohammad Naji Haider Al-Sufi while he was waiting for his turn to pay an Internet bill in a queue at the Al-Tahrir Post Center in the centre of Sana’a. They forced him into a white Land Cruiser and took him to an unknown destination.

He left behind a family consisting of a wife and two girls, who made every effort to find out where he was being held. They searched for him in the Criminal Investigation Department, the security authorities, the Public Prosecution, and the Ministry of Human Rights. They also appealed for help to international organisations, including the International Red Cross, but to no avail.

Al-Sufi established a daily news website called Al-Arabia Online, and he also received an official permit from the Ministry of Information to publish a newspaper in the name of “Al-Arabiya”, but it did not see the light due to his kidnapping.

His cousin Fahmi Al-Sufi, who was accompanying him during the kidnapping, filed a complaint with Al-Olafi Police Station in Sana’a regarding the kidnapping of his relative, but he did not receive any information about his location or the party that carried out the kidnapping.

Journalist Nabil Al-Sadawi

On 21 September 2015, members of the Security and Intelligence Service in Sana’a arbitrarily arrested journalist Nabil Al-Sadawi, 46, from a street near his home in Sana’a. He worked for the Yemen News Agency (Saba). He was subjected to enforced disappearance and incommunicado detention for five and a half months, was interrogated three times while blindfolded and without a lawyer, and was forced to sign pre-written confessions by security forces after being threatened with continued torture.

In July 2019, after nearly four years of arbitrary detention, he was referred to the Specialised Criminal Court on charges that included “working with the Saudi aggression” and “forming an armed gang to carry out criminal acts against members of the army and security forces.” On 23 February 2022, the Specialised Criminal Court sentenced him to eight years in prison. He was scheduled to be released on 21 September 2023, but the Specialised Criminal Court of Appeal in Sana’a issued a ruling on 18 August 2024, increasing his sentence to nine years in prison.

Journalist Fahd Al-Arhabi

On 21 August 2024, journalist Fahd Yahya Al-Arhabi was arrested and detained in a prison affiliated with the Security and Intelligence Service in Amran Governorate. His arrest is linked to his posts on social media in which he rejected the seizure of lands belonging to the Amran Cement Factory by an influential group, where he served as a media official before being dismissed and having his salary stopped by the Houthi group that controls this governorate.

He had previously been arrested twice. On 05 June 2023, the Security and Intelligence Service affiliated with the Houthi group arrested him after storming his home in the city of Amran, located 50 km north of the capital, Sana’a. Local sources confirmed that he was held in a prison affiliated with the Security and Intelligence Service. He was released after two and a half months in detention on 20 August 2023.

He was also arrested on 12 July 2021, and was not released until 25 days after his detention. The reason for his arrest was his opinions that he published on his Facebook page.

Journalist Mohammed Al-Mayahy

On 13 January 2025, the case of journalist and writer Mohammed Dabwan Al-Mayahy was referred to the Press and Publications Prosecution and Court.

On the same day, prominent human rights lawyer Abdulmajeed Sabra posted the following on his Facebook page: “We attended the investigation today with journalist Mohammed Al-Mayahy… at the Specialised Criminal Prosecution in Sana’a, and the investigating member decided to refer his case to the Press and Publications Prosecution and Court because he is a journalist. The charge attributed to him is related to his work as a journalist, which, according to what was reported by the General Directorate of Police Intelligence, is publishing inflammatory articles against the state and its political system.”

On the morning of 20 September 2024, an armed force affiliated with the Houthi group arrested him from his home in the centre of the Sana’a, and took him to an unknown location. Reliable local reports confirmed that he is being held incommunicado in a prison affiliated with the Security and Intelligence Service. The charges against him at that time have not been disclosed and he has been prevented from communicating with his family or lawyer.

Al-Mayahy is known for his harsh criticism of the Houthi group through his writings that he regularly publishes on social media networks, which informed local sources confirmed were the reason for his arrest. In June 2022, he celebrated the publication of his first novel, entitled “The Little Philosopher”.

 Journalist Naseh Shaker

On 19 November 2023, journalist Naseh Shaker disappeared while passing through the city of Aden on his way to travel via Aden International Airport to participate in a training course held abroad.

Informed sources confirmed to GCHR that the last contact between him and his family was on the morning of his disappearance, after which contact with him was lost.

Shaker is a freelance journalist based in Sana’a. He has regularly contributed his journalistic writings to many international news outlets, focusing on the humanitarian costs of the war on children and innocent civilians in Yemen.

GCHR expresses its deep concern over the disappearance of journalist Naseh Shaker for a period exceeding a year. GCHR holds the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, which controls security in the city of Aden, responsible for announcing his place of detention and preserving his life.

Education personnel targeted

On 11 January 2025, educator Fahd Abdullah Mohammed Al-Salami was released after nearly 10 years of detention. He was arrested on 06 October 2015. This was part of an exchange of prisoners where he arrived in the city of Marib, which is under the control of the internationally-recognised government, coming from Sana’a. He was working as the director of Al-Nahda schools before his arrest.

On 22 October 2024, the family of education expert Mohammed Khammash received a call from officials of the Security and Intelligence Service prison asking them to come and receive his body without disclosing the circumstances of his death. On 06 June 2024, he was arrested with a number of his colleagues working on developing educational curricula, and they were charged with “spying for foreign entities.”

 Recommendations

 Once again, GCHR urges the parties to the conflict in Yemen:

1. Immediately release all those who have been arbitrarily arrested, detained, or tried on fabricated charges;
2. Respect public freedoms, including freedom of the press and the right to peaceful assembly; and
3. Ensure that human rights defenders, including journalists, bloggers, academics, and internet activists, are able to carry out their legitimate work and express themselves freely without fear of reprisal and in a manner free from all restrictions, including judicial harassment.