Forced Disappearance in Yemen
This is quite common, not just with al-Qaeda suspects. Unidentified security forces snatch people off the street and they can be held for quite some time without explanation. Some of the Sa’ada prisoners were detained in a similiar manner.
Secret detention sites in Yemen for Al-Qaeda Suspects
Radhia Khairan-Editor: Jane Novak-HOOD onlinePersons suspected of affiliation with al Qaeda in Yemen are often subjected to illegal arrest procedures, incommunicado detention and sometimes remain incarcerated without evidence or even a trial. One such case involves the forced disappearance of three members of the al-Gholi family on February 24.
Security officials gained access to the al-Gholi residence under false pretenses. Two armed officers in civilian clothes knocked at the door at 3:30 am and said they had seen a thief at the roof of the house. Mr. Qasim Ali Qasim al-Gholi was immediately handcuffed when he opened the door. The officers failed to identify themselves but are thought to be members of the Political Security Organization.
The officers entered the home and started searching the rooms which caused great distress to Mrs. Al-Gholi. The two men rushed into women’s rooms without permission while Mrs. Al-Gholi screamed loudly in a bid to stop them, according to her statement to HOOD.A son, Mohammed Al-Gholi, attempted to intervene in defense of his mother. He threatened the officers with a small grenade and ordered them out of the home. Mohammed detonated the grenade in the street where it made a small hole. He was shot several times by the officers, neighbors reported. Mrs. Al-Gholi recalled hearing shots from inside her home. Mohammed was bundled into a police car bleeding from his injuries according to witnesses and driven off to an unknown destination. Another son, Ebrahim, was taken into custody as well.
The house was surrounded by numerous security officials firing their weapons in the air. Bullet holes are visible in the walls of the home. Mrs. Al-Gholi recalls the scene made her wonder, “Is it the hereafter or is it Israel at home?” The women and children in the home were frightened, and the neighborhood was in a commotion.
The location of the three men is unknown, and they are assumed to be in a prison. Mrs. Al-Gholi visited the PSO many times but officials claimed the three men were not at a PSO facility. The General Prosecution has sent two statements to the PSO seeking information about the men but received no answer, according to documents Mrs. Al-Gholi brought to HOOD.
Mr. Al-Gholi is a police officer in an emergency response unit. Mohammed is a student at the Administrative Science Institute. Ebrahim is a high school student. Mrs. Al-Gholi is distraught with concern for her family. She doesn’t know if Mohammed is alive or the nature of his injuries. Neighborhood rumors have begun to swirl that the family has links to al-Qaeda and some people are afraid to deal with the family.
Mrs. Al-Gholi reiterates her call to the general prosecution to locate her injured son and disclose his location.
HOOD calls upon the General Prosecution to immediate investigate the illegal abduction of the al-Gholi’s, and their forced disappearance.
