Sana'a - (Thursday, March 5, 2015)
Mwatana Organization for Human Rights has said that "Ansar Allah" group has arrested four political activists of the Islah Party in a flagrant violation of the international convent for civil and political rights, the fundamental human rights, the principles of justice and the effective Yemeni laws.
Four witnesses told Mwatana that some gunmen affiliated to the armed group "Ansar Allah" raided the headquarters of the Islah party on Al-Rebat street, west of Sana'a, at 5:45 on the evening of Sunday, March 1, 2015, and arrested four leaders and led them to an unknown destination and didn't tell their lawyers and relatives their whereabouts or even contact them.
Eye-witnesses told Mwatana that three Houthi gunmen and five other militants busted the headquarters of Islah-related students on Al-Rebat Street and destroyed its contents.
An eye-witness said, "Someone knocked at the door and we were taken aback by seeing three plain-clothes gunmen and five security personnel in uniform pointing their Kalashnikov guns at us while breaking into our headquarters. Then they moved to Habib Alariqi and said that they were looking for him. I asked them, "who are you? Do you have an official arrest warrant? But they didn't reply." The eye-witness added that the armed group refused to listen to Habib Alariqi when he asked them to let him call his lawyer and led him outside. Ten minutes later, they came back to look for his cellphone. He added, "They forced us to huddle in one of the rooms and set out searching every nook and cranny, but they found nothing. Then they took our cellphones and personal documents and everything they could lay their hands on including our pocket money. After that, they took Mohammed Alsabri, Ali Al-Hadamah, and Anwer Al-Hemiari and left. An hour later, they brought back some documents and devices."
Habib Alariqi heads the elections department of the Islah party in Sana'a while Ali Al-Hadamah is responsible for the students' affairs department. Both Mohammed Alsabri and Anwer Al-Hemiari are members at the students' affairs department. Two relatives of the arrestees have told Mwatana that they had looked for their relatives everywhere but in vain.
A relative of Anwer Al-Hemiari has told Mwatana that his family is deeply concerned about his safety because he is diabetic and that they have tirelessly tried to know his detention whereabouts in order to get him some medications.
According to Sheba News Agency, the Security Committee in Sana'a which is controlled by Ansar Allah said that the security personnel has managed to detain a host of field activists affiliated with Al-Qaeda under the so-called leader Habib Alariqi and that they had found arms in their possession.
Radhiyah Al-Mutawakil, the Director of the organization, said, "Accusing some political activists and opponents of being in collusion with Al-Qaeda through media outlets controlled by the armed group is considered to be a serious conduct that will compound the impacts of the violations practiced by Ansar Allah on the public peace." She also added, "These accusations won't provide the armed group 'Ansar Allah' with impunity for human rights violations."
The Public Prosecution located north of Sana'a, the capital, sent a notice on March 4, 2015, to the head of the police station in the Capital Secretariat to make sure of the reasons behind the detention of the four activists and that they should be released in case there was no legal reason for their incarceration. However, they should be referred to the concerned prosecution in case there was a felony. The article no. (76) of the Code of Punitive Procedures in Yemen states that: "Any person detained temporarily on suspicion of being involved in a crime shall appear in front of the court within twenty-four hours of his arrest at most." Moreover, the article no. (70) of the Code of Punitive Procedures stipulates: "detention means the arrest of a person and bringing him before the court or the Public Prosecution or law enforcement officers in accordance with the items stated by law or in accordance with an arrest warrant issued by those who are legally entitled to carry it out."
Mwatana Organization for Human Rights has said that the Public Prosecution shall bear its responsibility towards the arbitrary detention of the four Islah leaders as laid down in the article no. (13) of the Code of Punitive Procedures which states: "Any person gets an idea of another person being kept in custody without any legal justifications or being detained in any other place not prepared for detention shall inform the Public Prosecution and that a member of the Public Prosecution shall immediately set the detainee free if he got to know that the detainee was kept without any legal justification. Anyhow that member shall draw up a minutes detailing the accompanying circumstances of the detention."
Mwatana Organization for Human Rights has demanded the immediate release of the four Islah leaders and held the group "Ansar Allah" accountable for their safety and the restriction of their freedom, which is against the law. Furthermore, Mwatana has called on the group to stop involving the institutions and the security apparatus in the political conflict and exploiting them to its advantage.
The photo was taken for the demonstration that took place on Wednesday, March 4, 2015. It was taken by Mohammed Al-Emad.
