One of the most heinous patterns of violations in war
Mwatana for Human Rights has been providing legal support to victims of torture since 2016. As of December 2021, Mwatana has documented 429 cases of torture, including 83 deaths in detention.
“Torture” means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.
During 2021, Mwatana documented the torture of 63 persons, including three children. The Ansarallah group (Houthis) is responsible for torturing 22 cases in the governorates of Ibb, Al Bayda, Capital Secretariat, Hajjah, Dhamar, Saada, Sana’a and Amran. The government forces are also responsible for 16 cases of torture against civilians in Taiz, Hadramout, Shabwa, Aden, Lahj and Marib, while the armed formations of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) are responsible for 19 cases of torture against civilians in Aden, Dhala, Lahj, Abyan and Hadramout, and the Hadrami Elite forces bear responsibility for torturing 3 people in Hadramaut. Coalition forces also bear responsibility for torturing 3 people in Abyan and Hadramout.
On the evening of Friday, September 16, 2016, seven soldiers, wearing military uniforms and hooded with black scarf riding a military vehicle owned by the UAE-backed security belt, arrested Saleh (pseudonym - 26 years old) in Jaar area, Khanfar district, Abyan governorate. The armed men took Saleh blindfolded into the military vehicle and then to an unknown location. He remained forcibly disappeared until his family learned of his death a year and three months later.
The team of Mwatana for Human Rights interviewed Saleh's mother (46 years old), who said, “I looked for him in the most important detention centers, prisons and security departments of Abyan and Aden. I asked about him those I know of the security belt leaders in Abyan. All of them denied the presence of my son since his abduction. I did not know what charges were brought to him.”
In follow-up interview with Mwatana, Saleh's mother says, “Almost a year and three months after his disappearance, the mother of a detainee who had been released called me to tell me that her son had information about my son. I felt that I would fly with joy.” Saleh's mother started crying, and said, “Eyewitnesses told me that many accusations were brought to my son, including of being the financial officer of Al-Qaeda. I know that Saleh had nothing to do with that.”
Mwatana for Human Rights was able to interview eyewitnesses who were detained with Saleh and witnessed his torture. An eyewitness (24 years old) says, “I was in Waddah Hall with Saleh. We were seven in one very narrow cell with inadequate ventilation. At different times in the detention period, soldiers would take Saleh at night and disappear for two or three hours, during which he was interrogated and tortured.”
The eyewitness added, “Saleh told me that two or three masked soldiers were asking him to confess his connection to Al-Qaeda and beat him with rifle butts, kicked him with military shoes, and tortured him with electricity. The effects of torture were visible on his back and abdomen, his face was constantly “swollen” and “bluish”.
“It had been days for him (Saleh) when he could not speak of pain. Many times he could not walk, so soldiers would take him to the torture room. One day, we asked soldiers to take him to the hospital, and one of them said, “It is forbidden for any prisoner to go out, or any doctor to come in. This prison is as if it does not exist,”” the eyewitness continued.
The witness continued his testimony by saying, “One night, soldiers took Saleh to the torture room at around 10:00 p.m. and hung him on iron hooks, tortured him with electricity, took off his nails, plucked his head hair, and brutally beat him and then left him hanging.”
The witness continued, “My heart almost ruptured when soldiers ordered us to take him down and dig a grave for him. We buried him at 04:00 a.m in the courtyard of Waddah Hall. Saleh was not the first to die under torture. There is a cemetery in the courtyard of Waddah Hall.”
Saleh died in detention on Tuesday, January 2, 2018. Other detainees were forced to bury Saleh in the courtyard of Waddah Hall. They were not allowed to perform any religious rituals as part of the burial. The mother of one of those detainees was the one who informed Saleh's family of his death. Saleh remained forcibly disappeared for more than a year.
Saleh's mother says, “They tortured, killed and buried my son, and I have not seen him and I have not received his body. Why would they kill our children without trial and without clear charges?! “.
Torture is prohibited under and cannot be justified under any circumstances, at any time, including during times of conflict. Article III of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 specifically provides for the protection of persons under control, whether civilians or captured combatants, from “violence to the life, health and physical or mental well-being in particular murder in all its forms, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture”, as well as “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment.” The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (to which Yemen is a party) sets out a series of demands that States must prevent, investigate, file legal proceedings, and ensure that torture is addressed. Rape and all forms of sexual violence are also prohibited under international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
