864 Southern Political Prisoners, and 3000 arrested for the Saada War
There are thousands of political prisoners, preventative detentions or arbitrary arrests relating to the Sa’ada war. Witness Testimony, Click Here Today IRIN reported, “Abdul-Rashid al-Faqih, head of Hiwar Forum, a local non-governmental organisation (NGO), said about 3,000 people had been arrested by the authorities for supporting al-Houthi. Of these, 500 detainees are known. The rest are unidentified because their families are scared of reporting their fate. Their whereabouts are unknown, he told IRIN.”
About 3000 sounds right and then there are the southern political prisoners, Al-Sahwa:
Sahwa Net-Several activists have stressed the importance of opposing the arbitrary arrests, affirming the illegality of what is named the State Security Court in which southern leaders and activists are trying.
Mohammad al-Mikhlafi , head of the Yemeni Observatory for Human Rights, said that the political prisoners number amounted 864 from March up to-date, pointing out that all of them are from the southern provinces except the comedian Fahad al-Qarni.
He added in a seminar organized by YOHR on Wednesday in Sana’a that such trials ignite hatred against the unification particularly when many political figures are among those who are being prosecuted. Al-Mikhlafi said that the judiciary became an opponent of journalists, indicating that journalists are prevented from attending public hearings and prosecuted.
