New Report: Institutional Collapse and Entrenched Impunity Drive Grave Violations in Aden

Women Journalists Without Chains today released a comprehensive human rights assessment documenting the situation in Aden, the temporary capital of Yemen's internationally recognized government, covering the first five months of 2026.

The findings reveal not isolated incidents but a deepening structural breakdown across security, judicial, and rule-of-law institutions, enabling organized violence to proliferate while impunity remains deeply entrenched.

Systemic Violence and Unlawful Detention

The right to life remains under sustained assault. The report catalogues ongoing assassinations, extrajudicial killings, and deaths in custody—patterns that point to systemic failures in protection, investigation, and accountability rather than isolated aberrations. Among the documented cases are the targeted killings of Wissam Qaed, acting executive director of the Social Development Fund, and educator Abdulrahman Al-Shaer. Women Journalists Without Chains calls for investigations into these killings to be completed without further delay and for those responsible to be brought to justice.

Arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and the operation of unlawful detention facilities continue with little meaningful response to repeated calls for their closure. At least twelve facilities remain outside the oversight of the public prosecution and judiciary, some having operated for more than a decade, leaving families in prolonged anguish and the fate of dozens of disappeared persons unresolved. Despite repeated directives to close these facilities and disclose the fate of the disappeared, authorities have shown no tangible progress. The report also documents additional deaths in custody, stressing that each requires an independent, transparent, and impartial criminal investigation.

Abuse of Law Enforcement Powers and the Erosion of Civic Space

Policing and law enforcement powers are routinely exercised without adequate legal safeguards. The continued detention of journalist Nasih Shakir, despite a court order directing his release, stands as a clear illustration of security forces disregarding judicial decisions and undermining the rule of law.

Civic space continues to shrink. Authorities have targeted families of forcibly disappeared persons during peaceful protests demanding information about the fate of their relatives. Such actions undermine the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression while impeding efforts to establish truth and secure accountability.

Within this environment of weakened institutional oversight, the organization expresses grave concern over allegations of serious sexual violence against children in Aden. It calls for an independent investigation, immediate protection and comprehensive support for victims, and the establishment of safe, confidential reporting mechanisms. It further urges that any recorded material involving child victims be withheld from circulation in order to protect their rights, privacy, and dignity.

Comprehensive Institutional Reform and the Path to Accountability

Women Journalists Without Chains concludes that piecemeal measures will not suffice. Addressing these systemic failures requires comprehensive institutional reform, including genuine judicial independence, the permanent closure of all unlawful detention facilities, and independent, transparent investigations into every documented violation. Public trust can begin to be restored only through accountability, effective remedies for victims, and the restoration of institutional integrity.

The full report is available for download [HERE].