Human Rights Watch on Tuesday accused Yemen’s Houthi militia of
hostage-taking, torture and other serious abuses against people in their
custody.
The New York-based watchdog said it had documented 16 cases of illegal
imprisonment by the Iran-backed Shiite insurgents, “in large part to
extort money from relatives or to exchange them for people held by
opposing forces.”
“Houthi officials have treated detainees brutally, often amounting to
torture,” HRW said, adding that former detainees described being beaten
with iron rods, wooden sticks and assault rifles.
Prisoners were shackled to walls, caned and threatened with rape, it
said, noting that hostage-taking “is a serious violation of the laws of
war and a war crime.”
“The Houthis have added profiteering to their long list of abuses and
offenses against the people under their control in Yemen,” said HRW
Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson.
“Rather than treat detainees humanely, some Houthi officials are
exploiting their power to turn a profit through detention, torture and
murder.”
The Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, forcing the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to flee south.
HRW called on the UN Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of a
group of experts on Yemen to investigate and identify all parties
responsible for abuses.
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