Yemen’s thieves: Houthis impose royalties, extort poor

Nora Bandari

The Iranian-backed Houthi militia continues to commit various crimes that violate the humanitarian life of the Yemeni people.

Through its crimes, the Houthis have prepared all means for the mullah regime to implement its expansionist plan by impoverishing and humiliating the Yemenis and destroying their hope for salvation, as not all sectors of Yemeni people have been spared the Houthi oppression and terror, even to the extent of exploiting the poor and beggars and plundering their money instead of providing them with a livelihood.

Royalties from beggars

In May, Yemeni activists on social media called on the international community to protect Yemen from the Houthis, nothing that the militia has directed its oppression and extortion towards beggars to steal their money, as Houthi elements launched field campaigns in Sanaa targeting the roads, streets, and neighborhoods where beggars gather.

The militants offered the beggars two choices: imprisonment or paying a specific percentage of the money they receive (royalties) in exchange for being allowed to remain in the streets to earn a living from passers-by.

The militia has targeted this group now after their numbers reached nearly 2 million beggars due to the extreme poverty and hunger under Houthi rule, according to 2017 statistics. The Houthis managed to plunder all the money from other categories such as investors, businessmen, employees and others, and they closed a large number of charitable institutions that were providing support and assistance to the poor and needy, which has caused the number of beggars to skyrocket.

Activists pointed out that Yemen has not witnessed such barbarity in its history under any authority except the militia, adding that while the Houthis imposing royalties on merchants and citizens could be seen as a reasonable, when it comes to extorting beggars, this means the Houthis have crossed the line.

The Houthis are also continuing to starve the Yemeni people. On May 19, militia elements targeted food intended for the poor when they shelled the Red Sea mills in Hodeidah that contained thousands of tons of wheat belonging to the World Food Program (WFP), according to Yemeni media.

The militia is also working to exploit the poverty of Yemenis by sending poor children to the battlefronts after giving them sectarian courses on the Houthi extremist ideology. Anyone who objects to is then either killed or imprisoned.

Stealing zakat funds

Not only that, but the Houthis also exploited the poor by depriving them of zakat funds during the blessed month of Ramadan. The militia sent its elements to private sector companies, merchants, and real estate and agricultural land owners to collect the zakat funds from them, preventing them from giving it to poor families. This prompted some of the rich to secretly distribute money to the poor, according to Yemeni sources.

Looting relief aid

In addition to the above, Houthi elements are constantly working to steal relief aid that is sent to Yemen by UN organizations for the poor, the last of which occurred on April 20. Yemeni activists posted a video showing quantities of WFP food aid looted by Houthi elements and then sold on the black market.

Yemeni Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani pointed out in a tweet that the Iranian-backed Houthi militia deprives millions of citizens, who have been stranded after their salaries were pillaged and private sector became paralyzed, from the humanitarian aid and relief materials provided by UN organizations, instead selling them in the markets and reinforcing Houthi elements on various battlefronts.