Yemen

Thirty academics and political figures facing trumped-up charges, including espionage for the Saudi Arabia-led Coalition, were sentenced to death by the Sana’a-based Huthi-run Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) following a fundamentally flawed legal process, said Amnesty International.

Out of 36 individuals who were on trial, 30 were handed down death sentences. Amongst those is Youssef al-Bawab, a 45-year-old father of five and linguistics professor and political figure, who was arbitrarily arrested in late 2016. He was charged in April 2017, alongside 35 others, with several offences carrying the death penalty. Throughout his detention, proceedings against him and others in the same case were seriously flawed, and included enforced disappearance, excessive pre-trial detention, undue delays in his trial, incommunicado detention, allegations of torture and other ill-treatment and lack of access to legal counsel and medical care. 

Warning: This media release contains graphic testimonies from child survivors of sexual abuse. 

An investigation by Amnesty International has revealed that children as young as eight years old have been raped in the Yemeni city of Ta’iz. The suspected perpetrators, including members of militias backed by the Saudi Arabia-led Coalition, are yet to be held to account.

The families of four boys told Amnesty International that their sons had been sexually assaulted in a series of incidents over the past eight months. In two of the cases, families alleged that those responsible were Islahi-aligned militiamen supported by the Saudi Arabia-led Coalition. 

“The heartbreaking testimonies of these young survivors and their families expose how the ongoing conflict has rendered children vulnerable to being sexually exploited in a city plagued by weak security and institutions. These victims and their families have been left unprotected and alone to face the horrific ordeal of sexual abuse and its aftermath,” said Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.  

Responding to news that the warring parties in Yemen have agreed to a ceasefire for the port city of Hodeidah, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Director of Research said:

“Today’s announcement of a ceasefire agreement in Hodeidah brings hope to millions of civilians who are heavily dependent on the port for access to essential goods and humanitarian aid.

“The conflict has had a devastating impact in terms of interrupting vital supplies in and around Hodeidah. Both parties to the conflict have deliberately impeded humanitarian assistance in violation of international humanitarian law. They must now provide prompt and unhindered access to UN agencies and humanitarian organizations to deliver food, fuel, medicines and medical supplies to civilians in desperate need across Yemen.

“We call on the international community to strengthen the UN’s efforts to end gross violations of international law committed by all parties to the conflict and ensure justice and reparation for victims.”

Background

Area around main public hospital al-Thawra comes under sustained attack Medical worker describes hundreds of staff and patients fleeing in terror

Hundreds of medical workers and patients, including a malnourished woman carrying her daughter in a surgical robe and a man still hooked up to a catheter, fled in terror as a series of large explosions rocked a hospital in central Hodeidah yesterday, according to an eyewitness who spoke to Amnesty International.

Just before noon on 11 November, an attack reportedly carried out by the Saudi Arabia and UAE-led coalition hit very close to al-Thawra hospital – Hodeidah’s largest public medical facility.

Responding to the United Nations Human Rights Council vote to renew the mandate of the Group of Eminent Experts (GEE), which has been investigating violations and abuses of international law committed by all sides in Yemen, Amnesty International’s Senior Advocate Kevin Whelan said:

“Today’s vote sends a clear signal to all perpetrators of crimes under international law in Yemen that impunity is not an option. All parties to the conflict – including the Saudi and UAE-led coalition, the Yemeni government and the Huthi de facto authorities – must fully cooperate with the UN investigation team and help facilitate their work.

“This renewal also sends a timely message of support to the Yemeni civilian population, today reeling perhaps more than ever before from the impact of these violations even as they brace themselves for new rounds of violence.”

Background

Responding to a scathing report published today by the United Nations Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen (GEE) which concludes that all parties to the conflict may be guilty of war crimes, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East research director, said:

“The GEE, in its first report, confirms what we have known for the past three years, namely that all parties to the conflict in Yemen have acted with utter disregard for civilian lives. The Saudi Arabia-led coalition and allied forces, Huthi and Yemeni government aligned forces have consistently carried out unlawful attacks, restricted access to humanitarian aid, carried out widespread arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, child recruitment and other serious violations that have and continue to inflict unimaginable suffering on Yemen’s civilian population.

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition has continued to impose restrictions on the entry of essential goods into conflict-ravaged Yemen Huthi de facto authorities have excessively delayed the delivery of humanitarian assistance in famine-threatened areas and are said to have asked for bribes The coalition’s tightened restrictions could constitute a war crime

Millions of lives are at risk because the entry of essential goods such as food, fuel and medical supplies into war-torn Yemen is being restricted by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and their distribution then delayed by the country’s Huthi de facto authorities, Amnesty International warned in a new report released today.