Contributes to the Release of 83 Victims in the First Three Months of 2025
Mwatana for Human Rights announced that its field legal team, composed of female and male lawyers, provided legal support to 467 victims of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture, and contributed to the release of 83 of them during the first three months of 2025.
Through its field lawyers, Mwatana provided legal support during the same period to civilian victims held by various parties: 197 victims held by the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group, 137 by the internationally recognized government, 114 by the Southern Transitional Council, and 19 by the Saudi/UAE-led coalition forces.
The victims were distributed across various governorates in differing numbers. Taiz recorded the highest number with 68 victims, followed by Aden with 65, then Amanat Al-Asimah with 62, and Hadramawt with 57. Both Marib and Hajjah each recorded 29 victims, while Lahj and Shabwa each had 27 victims. Abyan recorded 22 victims, Al-Dhalea 20, Al Hudaydah 14, Amran 11, and Dhamar 10. Sana’a and Al-Mahrah each recorded 6 victims, Raymah 4, Al-Bayda 3, the Yemeni-Saudi border areas 3, Ibb 2, while Sa’dah and Al-Jawf each recorded one victim.
During the first quarter of 2025, Mwatana for Human Rights documented 169 new incidents of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture. The Ansar Allah (Houthi) group was responsible for 65 of these incidents. The Southern Transitional Council forces and the internationally recognized government forces were each responsible for 52 incidents, while the Saudi/UAE-led coalition forces were responsible for 3 incidents.
This period also witnessed a noticeable surge in arbitrary detentions, most prominently in January 2025, when the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group escalated its actions against humanitarian organization staff by detaining an additional seven employees of international organizations. This prompted the United Nations office to suspend all official activities in areas under the group’s control until further notice.
In February 2025, arbitrary detentions escalated in several southern governorates—especially Aden, Abyan, and Shabwa—where Southern Transitional Council forces carried out detentions against civilians who had participated in public protests in response to deteriorating living conditions and ongoing power outages.
It is worth noting that Mwatana for Human Rights provides legal assistance through a network of female and male lawyers across various regions of Yemen to victims of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture, regardless of the perpetrating party.
Mwatana carries out its efforts alongside the victims’ families or on their behalf, following thorough documentation of all details related to the victim and the incident, and based on the informed consent of the victims or their families.
Mwatana’s legal support team focuses on ensuring procedural justice for all individuals who come into contact with law enforcement bodies or who are detained by armed formations that now operate as de facto authorities. The team works to guarantee that individuals enjoy all their rights from the moment of detention, through the phases of interrogation and defense, including the conditions and location of detention, and up to the stage of trial.
