Brotherhood runs secret prisons in Yemen

Ali Ragab

The Yemeni Congregation for Reform, or al-Islah Party, the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm in Yemen, is pursuing its crimes against humanity in Taiz amid growing popular anger in the city against the Brotherhood and its secret prisons.

A follow-up committee for the Yemeni forced disappeared citizens organized a demonstration on Friday in the Freedom Square in Taiz calling for revealing the fate of Yemenis, who have disappeared forcedly in the secret prisons run by the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen.

There are around 10 secret prisons run by the Muslim Brotherhood, according to news reports. All kinds of torture and crimes against humanity are committed in these secret prisons.

Al-Islah Party runs 3 secret jails in houses owned by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, including one owned by Hammoud Khaled al-Soufy, former head of the political security agency.

Ali Sarhan al-Sharaby, director of Human Rights Office in Taiz, said some 2,700 Yemeni people are forcedly disappeared and no-one knows their whereabouts.

Yemen’s national committee for investigating into human rights allegations of violation has embarked on investigating into 27 illegal arrests, torture and forced disappearance committed by the Muslim Brotherhood in Taiz.

Meanwhile, Taiz Governor Nabil Shamsan has prepared a list of the forced disappearances in Taiz.

Nizar Haitham, leader of the Yemeni Southern Transitional Council, said the Brotherhood’s crimes in Taiz are many and have been on the rise.

”The Brotherhood organization detains and kills anyone that opposes its political schemes. Al-Islah Party has become a state within the state and controls Taiz as a Brotherhood province,” Haitham told THE REFERENCE.

Haitham called on international human rights organizations to take an immediate action against all human rights violations, including forced disappearances in Taiz, demanding criminal trial of the Brotherhood’s leaders