Yemen: Authorities continue to target human rights defender Khaled Al-Kamal

The de facto government in Sana’a, the Houthi group, continues to target human rights lawyer and legal advisor Khaled Al-Kamal in a series of harassment and threats, the latest of which was his suspension from work in the capital Sana’a.

On 02 June 2021, when Al-Kamal was working as usual in the Capital’s Secretariat, he was informed by the Human Resources Department of an arbitrary decision that had been issued by the Legal Sector on 26 May 2021 which suspended him from work. He submitted a request to the Director General of Investigations and Litigation, insisting that he did not commit any violation during his tenure of more than 20 years of work.

Al-Kamal began his work in the Capital’s Secretariat in 2001, including three years on a work contract, and in a permanent capacity since 2005.

Reliable local sources confirmed to the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) that the main reason for his suspension was his refusal to waive the defense of his client, actress and model Entisar Al-Hammadi, who is still in prison on trumped-up charges. He had previously been threatened by a plainclothes gunman on 27 April 2021 in front of his house, who demanded that he drop the case.

For more information on Al-Hammadi’s case and the threats against Al-Kamal, see:

https://www.gc4hr.org/news/view/2734 and https://www.gc4hr.org/news/view/2721

GCHR condemns in the strongest terms the continuous targeting of human rights lawyer Khaled Al-Kamal for doing his job as a lawyer with high professionalism, honesty and efficiency.

GCHR calls on the de facto government in Sana’a, the Houthi group, to lift the order preventing him from working, as well as to provide him with all forms of protection while he performs his work in defending the rights of his clients, especially Entisar Al-Hammadi.