The head of the Abductees’ Mothers Association, the Nation of Peace, al-Hajj, said that the association has documented 157 cases of detention and abduction of women in the areas controlled by the Houthi coup militia.
She explained in a statement to “Al-Islah Net” that the kidnapped women were released from places of detention after being detained for short periods.
Al-Hajj confirmed that 6 cases of kidnapping of women on a political basis were documented, and they were held for long periods in secret detention and official prisons, noting that two of these cases are still under enforced disappearance, namely Khaleda Al-Asbahi, who was kidnapped from the capital’s secretariat, and Tahani Qaid, who was She was kidnapped from Taiz, while two were released after being held in secret detention and then transferred to the Central Prison in Sana’a.
The head of the Abductees’ Mothers Association pointed out that two of the kidnapped women are still in the central prison to this day, one of them was issued a death sentence and then reduced to 15 years imprisonment.
She noted that what women are subjected to in the prisons of the Houthi militia is a flagrant violation of human rights in general and women in particular, as it represents a projection of values and norms.
She said that the organization will continue its efforts in documenting crimes and violations against women, and exposing them to the public opinion, and that these violations cannot be dropped.
Yemeni women in the areas controlled by the Houthi militia have been subjected to escalating violations since the invasion of Sana’a in September 2014, but they have escalated over the past months.
The Houthi crimes against women, especially those kidnapped in the militia’s prisons, crossed all red lines, as revealed by the testimonies of female detainees who were subjected to forms of torture.
Despite the Yemeni society’s description of detaining or insulting women as a “black blemish”, the Houthi militia has encroached on this value that Yemenis hold dear, and proceeded to arrest women for their views and ideas.
According to the report of the group of eminent international experts in charge of the Yemen file, issued last September, there are more than 300 women and girls who have been subjected to violence and intimidation by the Houthis, in addition to the increasing threats of rape, sexual assault and accusations of prostitution, in an attempt to legitimize their practices through these accusations.
About two years ago, the name of the leader of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia, Sultan Zaben, was mentioned, especially in the arrest and kidnapping of women, and he is considered responsible for the assassinations that occur against opponents, especially women in Sanaa, and their placement in secret prisons, in a heinous crime that is inconsistent with values, morals and customs. The Yemeni people.
The militia appointed Sultan Zaben as Director of Criminal Investigation in Sana’a and granted him the rank of brigadier general, and his duties are specifically to kidnap and hide women in several civilian buildings, which he turned into secret detention centers and prisons for women.
Zaben’s violations did not stop at this point. Rather, he opened a special prison that kidnapped women and deposited them in prison after raiding their homes and plundering gold and everything that was valuable, then accusing them of prostitution and bargaining with their families by releasing them in exchange for large sums of money, relying on this on armed Houthi women who called themselves The name “Zainabiyat”, “Zaben” undertook the task of establishing and supervising that formation.
The name “Zaben” was included in the sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department against officials of the Houthi coup militia, the Iranian arm in Yemen, for being involved in torturing civilians.
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