Houthis build secret prison to torture detainees in Hodeidah

Over the course of five years since the Houthi militias launched their coup against Yemen’s legitimate government five years ago, they continue their systematic torture against Yemenis citizens, using all brutal methods against them, by launching massive campaigns of arrests targeting all those who oppose the ideology of the Shiite extremist group.

The Association of the Abductees’ Mothers has revealed that the Houthis had created secret prisons to torture detainees in the city of Hodeidah in western Yemen.

In its report entitled “Hunaysh prison: The Houthi black shell” that was issued in cooperation with the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, the association said that the Houthis built a secret prison in the central prison in the Hodeidah City and has prevented human rights organizations from accessing it.

The report also added that the Houthi terrorist group worked to isolate the prison and surrounded it with tight security.

It was named the “Hunaysh” prison as a metaphor for the excessive isolation and secrecy surrounding it by the Houthi group, according to the statement.

According to testimonies by detainees who were released from the secret prison, the Houthis practiced the worst forms of torture against detainees in the secret prison.

The association also called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit Hunaysh prison and to assess the extent of the suffering of the detainees.

The association called on the Security Council to carry out its legal responsibilities outlined in the Charter of the United Nations and take the necessary procedures to shut the Hunaysh prison.

The association further called on the Houthi group to abide by the international agreements that prohibit the illegal practices by the group against the detainees in the Hunaysh prison in Hodeidah.

In addition to the above, there are thousands of kidnapped opponents who are in Houthi prisons in very poor conditions, and all brutal methods of torture are used against them, and they often result in their death.

According to other reports, the torture methods used by the Houthis includes electric shocks, beating and the so-called “grill method,” which relies on the suspension of the body over a steel tool attached on two wedges.

The reports also revealed that 183 individuals detained by Houthis, had been affected by several diseases, including 11 cases suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis in Dhammar alone.

The Houthis run 203 prisoners in Yemen, including 78 official and 125 secret prisons.

Human rights organizations had previously revealed that the militias were responsible for the kidnapping of 19,000 people across Yemen from September 2014 to July 2017.