“Mayyun warns against Houthi incitement against those celebrating the September 26 revolution and kidnapping 270 civilians”

We condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing campaign of repression and arbitrary arrests carried out by the Houthi security apparatus against more than 270 civilians, including members of the General People’s Congress party, journalists, and educators. These individuals were targeted for their social media posts expressing their intent to celebrate the annual Yemeni National Day on September 26th.
Our organization has monitored the social media posts and discussions of the victims since mid-September. We assert that the Houthi accusations of incitement and destabilization related to these individuals’ posts about the “Revolution Day” are baseless and merely a pretext to deprive them of their right to freedom of expression and to arbitrarily detain them in flagrant violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Information obtained by our organization indicates that instead of utilizing law enforcement agencies to protect the most basic civic right of celebrating a national holiday, the Houthis have mobilized all sectors of the Ministry of Interior, including the General Security, Police Forces, Emergency Forces, Criminal Investigation Departments, as well as their repressive apparatus such as the Security and Intelligence Service, the so-called Preventive Security, and the Community Security Unit. These forces have been deployed to intimidate, suppress, and forcibly impose control over civilians, silencing any dissenting or critical voices.
We denounce these intimidation campaigns against civilians, particularly women, which coincide with security crackdowns and public threats of arrest aimed at deterring people from participating in planned public celebrations and raising the national flag, a longstanding Yemeni tradition.
Furthermore, we warn of the dangerous implications of documented statements by Houthi armed group leaders and officials in their unrecognized government, which contain explicit instructions to their followers to attack celebrants and flag-bearers. This is a grave threat to the lives of civilians and risks triggering a new round of deadly conflict that would undermine the existing truce in Yemen.
Issued by Mayyun Organization for Human Rights
September 23, 2023