The Abductees Mothers Association and the undersigned human rights organizations express their strong condemnation and deep denunciation of the death sentences issued by the Houthi group against a number of abductees from Al-Mahwit Governorate, after accusing them of so-called “collaboration.” These sentences were issued through trials that lack even the most basic standards of justice and are based on arbitrary detention and the extraction of confessions under coercion and torture, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights standards.

Issuing death sentences against abductees who have been subjected to arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance constitutes a grave crime and a direct threat to the right to life. It further deepens the suffering of thousands of families who have lived for years in a state of fear, anxiety, and painful uncertainty.

Crimes involving death sentences and their implementation by the Houthi group are neither the first nor will they be the last unless the group is subjected to political pressure, human rights monitoring, legal deterrence, and accountability for those involved in issuing and carrying out such sentences, in accordance with international law.

In relation to this serious case, and in fulfillment of their legal, professional, human rights, and humanitarian responsibilities, the undersigned organizations submit this official memorandum to the relevant international actors, foremost among them the Office of the United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen and the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi, calling for the following:

• We call on the UN Special Envoy to Yemen to take immediate and urgent action to annul all death sentences issued against abductees from Al-Mahwit Governorate, to halt any procedures that may lead to their execution, and to ensure their release, as the continuation of these sentences constitutes a crime that threatens the right to life.
• We urge the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council to assume his constitutional and legal responsibilities and to work seriously with the international community and relevant actors to exert pressure to save the lives of the abductees, and to reject the politicization of this grave humanitarian file.
• We stress the necessity of placing the issue of abductees and arbitrarily detained persons at the top of the agenda of any ongoing or future political settlements or agreements, as their release is a fundamental step toward building a genuine and sustainable peace, and a real test of the parties’ intentions to end the suffering of civilians.
• We affirm that any peace that does not begin with saving those sentenced to death, does not end the crimes of abduction and enforced disappearance, and does not deliver justice to victims and their families, will be nothing more than a fragile and superficial peace.

Accordingly, we renew our call on the international community and the United Nations to shoulder their moral and humanitarian responsibilities and to take serious and practical steps to protect the lives of abductees and put an end to these ongoing violations

Signed by the following human rights organizations:

1. Abductees Mothers Association
2. Yemeni Network of Victims’ Associations
3. Muwasat Organization for Rights and Freedoms
4. Rasd Center for Rights and Development
5. Shohoud Organization for Human Rights
6. Ain Organization for Human Rights
7. Civil Authority for Victims of House Demolitions
8. Al-Amal Cultural, Social, and Women’s Organization
9. Yemeni Coalition for Monitoring Human Rights Violations
10. SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties