The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) has documented numerous human rights violations in Yemen over the past two months, committed by parties to the ongoing conflict. These violations include the continued targeting of journalists, media professionals, and other activists, the application of fabricated charges against them, and the imposition of severe restrictions on freedom of expression and press freedom. GCHR expresses concern over reports of the continued arbitrary detention of a number of innocent journalists, media professionals, and United Nations and civil society staff in Yemen.

Children in the grip of the military

On 10 August 2025, the Sons of Lahj Platform published an investigative report on its Facebook page entitled “Children in the Grip of the Military”. The introduction stated, “How did the 4th Mountain Infantry Brigade become an instrument of extrajudicial repression in Lahj? Since October 2023, a file laden with violations has unfolded in Lahj Governorate, led by the 4th Infantry Brigade. The issue is not about pursuing wanted persons or protecting security, but rather about the arrest and torture of minors, a scene that brings to mind the worst forms of violations considered to be criminal by international conventions.” The investigation cited documented cases of children arrested by members of this brigade, and alleged systematic torture, and concluded, “The issue is no longer a one-off incident, but rather a file of corruption and systematic violations in which personal interests, military influence, and judicial silence intertwine.” This brigade is under the control of the internationally-recognised government.

Judicial complex in Taiz City stormed

On 04 August 2025, the Yemeni Judges Club, Taiz Governorate Branch, issued a statement condemning the attack carried out by an armed group affiliated with the 22nd Mechanised Brigade (which is supervised by the internationally-recognised government) that morning. According to the statement, the attack included “a heinous assault on the headquarters of the satellite complex… and the firing of gunfire inside, resulting in the injury of a security officer assigned to protect the commercial court. The attack also resulted in the kidnapping of the judicial complex security officer and his abduction to an unknown location.” In its statement, the club announced the suspension of judicial work in the governorate’s courts and prosecution offices as of 05 August 2025, and demanded that the perpetrators be handed over to the Specialised Criminal Prosecution.

Press reports stated that “the attack came as a result of the attackers’ attempt to release one of the defendants being tried inside the complex, who is affiliated with the 22nd Mechanised Brigade.”

In a subsequent statement published by the club on 14 August 2025, it announced the resumption of judicial work in Taiz Governorate as of 17 August 2025, after “the case file with the detained defendants was referred to the Specialised Criminal Prosecution, which began investigation procedures into the case.”

Health of UN staff member Sami Al-Kalabi deteriorates

Local press reports have confirmed the deterioration of the health of Sami Al-Kalabi, an employee of the Office of the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Yemen, who is currently detained. These reports indicate that Al-Kalabi is suffering from trigeminal neuralgia, a condition he did not suffer from before his arrest. In light of the lack of adequate healthcare, there are concerns that his condition is worsening, which some observers claim is due to the mistreatment of detainees.

On 01 August 2025, his wife, Huda Al-Raadi, wrote on her Facebook page, “Is what we are asking for too much? Our only demand is justice… only that those who were unjustly kidnapped from us be returned to us.”

On the morning of 06 June 2024, a group of masked gunmen forcibly stormed his home and took him to an unknown location. They searched the house for three hours and confiscated his personal belongings. This was part of a campaign of arrests that included several employees working for various UN agencies and NGOs.

Political activist Maneh Suleiman released

On 20 July 2025, political activist Maneh Mohammed Suleiman was released in Marib Governorate after more than a year and four months in detention.

Reliable local sources confirmed his release from Marib Central Prison after he completed the required procedures, including a ruling issued by the Marib Court of First Instance ordering his release on a financial in-person bail. The charges against him were related to debts exceeding 15 million civil riyals, according to local authorities.

In a post on her Facebook page, his wife, Umm Hamid Suleiman, who used her page to exert all her efforts to demand his release, said, “Finally, my husband is free… Thanks to everyone who stood with us and showed solidarity with us.”

On 18 July 2023, Suleiman was arrested by a military police force in Marib, despite his civilian status, and detained in a prison affiliated with the Political Security Organisation in the city. The military and security forces in Marib city are under the authority of the internationally-recognised government.

Local civil society activists confirmed to GCHR that he was bold in his posts and that his targeting was linked to his political activism. He used his Facebook page to publish his personal opinions and open criticism of corruption in local government institutions, including military and security institutions linked to influential figures in the city.

Upon his release, he continued to use his Facebook page to extensively post about the serious violations, including torture, that he alleged had occurred in the Political Security Organisation prison in Marib.

On 11 August 2025, he posted the following on his page: “I am in hiding to protect myself from assassination cells… not to escape justice.”

On the same day, he sent a letter to all authorities in the Yemeni government, including the Presidential Leadership Council, calling on them to “form a fact-finding committee on the issues that were reported before my arrest by the Political Security Service in Marib and the issues that were reported after my release from detention, most notably the assassination and torture cells in prisons.”

Dr. Ali Ahmed Al-Madhwahi remains in detention

Internet activist Safia Mohammed, the wife of Dr. Ali Ahmed Al-Madhwahi, who is detained in Sana’a by the Houthi group, uses her Facebook page to post her repeated pleas for her husband’s release.

On 01 August 2025, she posted the following question on her page: “What conscience sleeps at ease every night when an oppressed person has been imprisoned behind closed doors for more than a year?” On 29 July 2025, she also wrote on her page: “I am Safia… the wife of an oppressed person, and the mother of a grieving child… For more than a year, my husband, Dr. Ali Ahmed Al-Madhwahi, has been forcibly detained… and every day the same question is repeated by his daughter, Yumna: When will Daddy come back?”

On 06 July 2025, journalist Fouad Al-Nahari wrote an article in Al-Ndaa newspaper titled “Freedom for Dr. Ali Al-Madwahi.” He described him by saying, “Dr. Al-Madwahi is distinguished by his open-heartedness, his ever-present smile, and his vast knowledge and understanding. In addition to his medical specialisation, in which he excels, he is an unrivaled poet, intellectual, media professional, and unionist.” He added, “Despite his ability to emigrate to any corner of the world during the war years, he chose to remain in Sana’a to serve the people through his job and through the international organisations with which he works as a consultant.”

On 08 June 2024, members of the Security and Intelligence Service in the capital, Sana’a, stormed his office and arrested him as part of a campaign targeting a number of employees of international organisations.

Journalist Muzahim Bajaber released

On 21 July 2025, the Specialised Criminal Prosecution in Hadhramaut Governorate issued an order to release journalist Muzahim Bajaber, editor-in-chief and publisher of the Al-Ahqaf media platform, on commercial bail, after he had spent 33 days in detention.

A military force had arrested him on 18 June 2025, and taken him to the Criminal Investigation Department in Mukalla, where he was detained. The arrest was based on an order issued by the Specialised Primary Criminal Prosecution Office, which required his forcible arrest. Al-Mukalla is the capital of Hadhramaut Governorate, which is under the control of the internationally-recognised government.

Journalist Abduljabbar Omar Bajber arrested

In the early morning hours of 28 July 2025, a special military force arrested journalist Abduljabbar Omar Bajber, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Aad TV website and channel, while he was passing through the Aqabat Abdullah Gharib road, which connects Wadi and the Hadhramaut coast. He was taken to the Criminal Investigation Prison in Mukalla.

On 08 April 2025, the Specialised Criminal Prosecution in Hadhramaut Governorate issued an order to forcibly bring journalists Muzahim Bajaber, Sabri Salmeen Bin Makhashin, and Abduljabbar Bajber before the court for failing to comply with its orders to appear before it.

This was followed by an order issued by the Director of Hadhramaut Police on 10 April 2025, ordering their arrest because they were wanted for investigation by the Specialised Criminal Prosecution and had not appeared voluntarily.

On 03 June 2025, Makhashin posted an appeal on his Facebook page addressed to the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate and human rights organisations. He attached photos of orders issued by the Specialised Criminal Prosecution Office and the Hadhramaut Governorate Police Director to detain him and his other two colleagues.

The appeal stated, “I carried my pen along with my fellow journalists, Abduljabbar Bajber and Muzahim Bajaber, and our pages embraced the causes of the oppressed and downtrodden, and we published major and horrific corruption cases that are destroying the national economy.” He added, “Instead of the Public Prosecutor and the Specialised Prosecutions taking strict and urgent legal action against violators, we are surprised by the issuance of coercive orders against us, in images that reflect the flawed handling of the state system and its laws.” He concluded his appeal by calling on all civil society organisations to stand in solidarity with them.

Local reports confirmed that his arrest came nearly two months after he was targeted by security forces in the governorate, adding that his family has been prevented from visiting or communicating with him.

On 06 August 2025, a solidarity rally was held in the city of Al-Shihr, a coastal city in Hadhramaut Governorate, to protest the arrest of journalist Bajber. Fellow journalists, media professionals, and a number of citizens participated, demanding that local authorities immediately release him.

Union leader Ghassan Jawad arrested

On 27 July 2025, forces affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council arrested Ghassan Jawad, head of the Aden Refinery Company Union, based on directives issued by the Press and Publications Prosecutor following a lawsuit filed against him by the company.

In a statement issued by his family on 30 July 2025, and published in local newspapers, they issued an urgent appeal for his immediate release. They emphasised that his arrest “was carried out arbitrarily, without granting him his legal rights or taking into account his union status.” They described what happened to him as “a clear targeting of free union work and an attempt to silence the voices of workers’ rights advocates.”

Informed local sources confirmed that the family’s attempts to provide a guarantor were rejected by local authorities, and that he was accused of failing to attend court sessions of which he had no knowledge, which the family considered a clear violation of the law.

Jawad is considered one of the most prominent union leaders in the Aden Refinery Company. He is known for his steadfast stance in defending workers’ rights, which has made him a frequent target.

Journalist Hiba Al-Kutbi and her husband Salah Al-Wasai targeted

The publication of the above photo, which is completely natural, forced journalist Hiba Al-Tabai and her husband, writer Salah Al-Wasai, to leave Yemen due to the scale of the threats they received and the campaigns they faced, which put their lives in serious danger.

On 11 November 2024, Al-Wasai posted this photo on his Facebook page. He and his wife subsequently received death threats and widespread incitement and defamation campaigns on social media. This included death threats from Al-Tabai’s brothers, one of whom works as an officer in the Central Security Branch in Taiz, affiliated with the internationally-recognised government.

This forced them to leave their home in Taiz and then hide in the homes of friends in the countryside until they reached Aden Governorate secretly. From there, due to the ongoing threats and campaigns against them, they left the country.

On 23 July 2025, a hardline cleric spoke publicly again about this incident, describing it as an example of moral corruption in Taiz, which led to a renewed campaign against them.

This unjust targeting resulted in the loss of their jobs, as well as material and psychological harm, and forced them to travel without prior notice to protect their lives.

Al-Taabi told GCHR that, “This incitement and threat comes in the context of my being an independent journalist and an activist in defending women’s rights in particular and human rights in general, including issues of gender-based violence and other issues of a humanitarian dimension.”

GCHR expresses its full solidarity with journalist Hiba Al-Tabai and her husband, writer Salah Al-Wasai, and strongly condemns the threats against them and all the incitement and defamation campaigns they face.

Journalist Mohammed Al-Hammadi assaulted

On the evening of 20 July 2025, journalist Mohammed Al-Hammadi, a Suhail Satellite TV correspondent, was suddenly and violently attacked by unknown individuals while returning to his home on the outskirts of Al-Turbah city, the centre of Ash-Shamayatayn District, Taiz Governorate.

Al-Hammadi confirmed in press statements after the incident that the attack occurred in a dark area and involved hitting him on the head with a square piece of iron, causing severe bleeding and causing him to lose consciousness. He was taken to the hospital by a motorcyclist who provided him with the necessary first aid. He expected the number of perpetrators to be more than one, saying, “Who would dare carry out an attack in such a dark spot and at such an hour unless they felt safe and covered?”

Al-Hammadi also stated that he had received previous threats due to his bold media coverage of sensitive issues in Taiz Governorate and his unequivocal efforts to convey the truth to citizens.

His colleagues, civil society activists, and citizens declared their full solidarity with Al-Hammadi and considered this attack an attempt by local authorities, under the control of forces loyal to the internationally-recognised Yemeni government, to silence free voices.

Bashir Salam Al-Maqtari continues to be forcibly disappeared

The de facto government in Sana’a, the Houthi group, continues to forcibly disappear Bashir Salam Al-Maqtari, an employee of the General Authority of Civil Aviation and Meteorology at Sana’a International Airport. This continues the suffering of his family, who have been prevented from visiting him or providing him with his various needs.

On 17 April 2024, members of the Security and Intelligence Service arbitrarily arrested him while he was on a street in Sana’a. He has been detained in their prison ever since.

Reliable local sources confirmed that his arrest came after his return from Egypt and his meeting with some Yemeni figures residing there. Local authorities have instructed his family not to publicise his arrest or contact human rights organisations in the hopes of securing his release, which has not occurred. Furthermore, the authorities are refusing to provide any information about his health or the nature of the charges against him.

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.