The referral by the Houthi militia of five humanitarian and civilian workers to the so-called Specialized Criminal Prosecution in Sanaa, after more than two years of detention and enforced disappearance,

raises serious concerns regarding arbitrary detention, torture, access to counsel, fair-trial guarantees and the denial of adequate medical care. The cases of Asim Al-Ashari, Dr. Ali Ahmed Al-Midhwahi, Labib Shayef Al-Absi, Murad Dhafer and Sami Lutfallah Al-Kilabi indicate that judicial proceedings are being initiated after prolonged periods in which basic procedural safeguards were reportedly denied. Proceedings based on evidence obtained through torture or coercion cannot satisfy the requirements of a fair trial, while the detention of seriously ill individuals without adequate medical care places their lives and physical integrity at further risk.

Background

Information received from detainees' families, lawyers and other sources indicates that the five men were among dozens of UN personnel, humanitarian workers and civilian professionals abducted by the Houthi militia during a campaign beginning in mid-2024. Their cases were referred in recent days to the so-called Specialized Criminal Prosecution in Sanaa after more than two years of detention.

Asim Al-Ashari, Director of Research and Public Policy at Raneen Yemen Foundation, was abducted in May 2024. He was subsequently subjected to enforced disappearance and denied regular contact with his family. His health deteriorated during detention, including the loss of vision in one eye. His family also reported that he was denied an opportunity to visit his father, who suffered a stroke and was admitted to intensive care after his son's abduction and prolonged disappearance.

Dr. Ali Ahmed Al-Midhwahi, a physician and public-health specialist who has worked in family health, primary healthcare, immunization and vaccination programmes, was detained in June 2024. His family received no contact from him for approximately six months. According to an account conveyed by his wife, he spent more than 16 months in an underground cell and was subjected to torture, humiliation, deprivation of food, water and sleep, prolonged forced standing, and pressure to provide statements and signatures under coercion.

Al-Midhwahi appeared before the so-called Specialized Criminal Prosecution on 24 August 2026. According to his lawyer's account, he was brought to the hearing in prison clothing with his hands restrained and his mouth covered. His lawyers were searched and intimidated and were not permitted confidential communication with him. The investigation concerned accusations connected to his public-health work, including immunization and vaccination programmes. A further session was held on 26 August. Al-Midhwahi and his lawyers were reportedly required to address a case file of approximately 5,000 pages within a limited period, while the defence was not permitted to photograph the file or obtain a copy.

Accounts attributed to Al-Midhwahi also indicate that he was pressured to confess that he had been recruited by the World Health Organization and that vaccines administered to children were being used as instruments of espionage.

Labib Shayef Al-Absi, a researcher and trainer working in public policy, governance and civil society, was abducted from his office in Sanaa in June 2024. He was subjected to prolonged enforced disappearance and restricted contact with his family. Information concerning his detention also indicates deterioration in his physical and psychological condition amid reports of ill-treatment, torture, medical neglect and prolonged isolation.

Murad Dhafer, Deputy Director of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, was abducted from his home in Sanaa in June 2024 and remained forcibly disappeared for several months. He was denied the opportunity to see his mother before her death, despite assurances reportedly given to his family. His health subsequently deteriorated severely; journalist Fares Al-Himyari reported that Dhafer appeared before the so-called prosecution using a cane after losing part of his ability to walk.

Sami Lutfallah Al-Kilabi, an employee of the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, was abducted from his home in Sanaa in June 2024 by armed personnel affiliated with the Security and Intelligence Service. His home was searched and personal belongings were confiscated. He has remained detained and forcibly disappeared since then.

Al-Kilabi suffers from Crohn's disease, severe gastrointestinal complications, impaired kidney function and neurological complications. His condition has required several hospitalizations, including one period of approximately ten days in critical condition. His sister has also reported that he has cancer and warned that continued detention without specialized and regular medical treatment poses a direct threat to his life.

The five cases form part of a wider record of detainees suffering serious health consequences in Houthi custody. Other reported cases include the deaths in detention of Ahmed Baalawi, an employee of the World Food Programme, in Saada in February 2025, less than one month after his abduction, and Hisham Al-Hakimi, a security and safety officer with Save the Children, in October 2023, approximately 50 days after his abduction.

Previous documentation also recorded serious medical and psychological conditions among other humanitarian workers held in Houthi prisons, including kidney failure requiring dialysis, loss of mobility, recurrent strokes, pulmonary embolism, severe weight loss, loss of vision and advanced liver cancer.

The consequences have extended to detainees' families. Previous documentation recorded approximately five deaths among parents of detainees in circumstances associated with prolonged psychological distress caused by the disappearance of their children. At least nine parents were also documented as suffering serious health complications, including strokes and heart attacks.

Institutional Position

The right to liberty and security of person, protection from torture, and the right to a fair and public hearing before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal apply to every person deprived of liberty. Prolonged incommunicado detention, enforced disappearance and the denial of meaningful access to counsel are fundamentally incompatible with these safeguards.

The circumstances reported in these five cases warrant scrutiny of whether the judicial proceedings are being used to regularize detention that has already occurred outside effective legal safeguards. Referral to a prosecution office cannot retrospectively cure an arbitrary deprivation of liberty, and placing a detainee before a judicial body does not by itself establish that the proceedings are independent, impartial or fair.

Particular concern arises where statements or signatures were reportedly obtained after torture, threats or deprivation of food, water and sleep. Evidence obtained through torture must not be used as a basis for prosecution or conviction. Repackaging coercively obtained statements as formal investigation records does not resolve the underlying violation.

The treatment of Dr. Al-Midhwahi also raises concerns regarding the ability of the defence to prepare an effective response to the charges. Requiring a detainee and his lawyers to address a case file of approximately 5,000 pages within a limited period, while preventing the defence from obtaining or reproducing the file, warrants scrutiny of whether adequate time and facilities for the preparation of a defence are being provided.

The reported use of public-health and vaccination activities as the basis for security-related accusations raises a separate concern regarding the protection of legitimate humanitarian and professional work. Public-health professionals must be able to perform their functions without being criminalized through unsupported security narratives.

The condition of Sami Al-Kilabi requires immediate attention. Where detention places a person with serious and potentially life-threatening medical conditions at risk because appropriate treatment is unavailable or denied, the deprivation of liberty raises concerns extending beyond procedural legality to the protection of life and physical integrity.

The wider record of prolonged detention, enforced disappearance, reported torture and ill-treatment, medical neglect and subsequent judicial proceedings warrants independent investigation. Where such conduct forms part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, the underlying acts may also require assessment under the framework governing crimes against humanity.

Applicable Legal Framework

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) protects the right to life under Article 6 and prohibits arbitrary arrest or detention under Article 9. Article 14 requires a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and guarantees adequate time and facilities for the preparation of a defence. Article 7 prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, while Article 10 requires persons deprived of liberty to be treated with humanity and with respect for their inherent dignity.

The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) prohibits torture and requires effective measures to prevent it. It also requires investigations where there are reasonable grounds to believe that torture has occurred and excludes statements established to have been made as a result of torture, except against a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made.

Under international humanitarian law, Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions prohibits torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity and the passing of sentences without a regularly constituted court affording the judicial guarantees recognized as indispensable. These protections apply in non-international armed conflicts and operate alongside applicable international human rights obligations.

The Rome Statute identifies imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, persecution, enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts among conduct that may constitute crimes against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population, with the required knowledge and contextual elements. The reported conduct therefore warrants assessment against the applicable international criminal-law standards. This does not, by itself, establish the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over the incidents.

Where conduct against protected persons is sufficiently connected to the armed conflict and satisfies the relevant legal elements, torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity and other prohibited conduct may also constitute war crimes under international humanitarian law.

Demands Aligned with International Human Rights Principles

The protection of civilians, humanitarian workers and other persons deprived of liberty depends on the integrity of the rule of law, not merely on the existence of formal judicial proceedings. Detention, investigation and prosecution cannot become instruments for concealing torture, enforced disappearance or arbitrary deprivation of liberty. Any credible response to these cases must restore the rights of the detainees, protect their lives and dignity, and preserve a genuine path to accountability for serious violations.

Women Journalists Without Chains

Geneva, Switzerland —September 8, 2026