Paris-Geneva,
October 16, 2023 – Five members of the human rights organisation
Mwatana for human rights were prevented from travelling by the de
facto
Ansar
Allah (Houthi) authorities, without any legal justification, in
violation of their right to freedom of movement.
The Observatory condemns this arbitrary obstacle to their freedom of
movement and calls on all parties
to the ongoing conflict in Yemen to put an end to any act of
harassment against Mwatana members and all human rights defenders in
the country, and to uphold the right to freedom of movement.
On
September 30, 2023, security agents affiliated with the Ansar Allah
(Houthi) group, which currently exercises de
facto
control over northern Yemen, including the capital Sana'a, prevented
Ms Radhya
Al-Mutawakel,
Chairperson of the Mwatana for Human Rights organisation, Mr
Abdul-Rashid
Al-Faqih,
Vice-Chairperson of the organisation, and three other members of
Mwatana for Human Rights, from travelling through Sana'a
International Airport, without providing any legal justification. The
security agents presented themselves using pseudonyms and refused to
disclose their affiliations. They summoned the five human rights
defenders for 10-minute individual interrogations, informing them of
the existence of a travel ban against them following alleged “higher
orders”. The security agents also returned the luggage that had
been shipped into the airplane and cancelled departure visas for two
members of the organisation before they boarded the plane. The five
human rights defenders were released without charges after the
interrogation but remain under travel ban for an indefinite period of
time.
Mwatana
for Human Rights
is an independent Yemeni organisation established in 2007, member of
FIDH, which advocates for human rights through the verification and
documentation of violations, provision of legal support to victims of
human rights violations, as well as awareness raising and capacity
building.
Sana’a
International Airport, which is located in the area de
facto
controlled by the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group at the time of
publication of this statement, has been partially open since April
2022. Since then, several violations by the Ansar Allah (Houthi)
group infringing upon the freedom of movement through Sana'a
International Airport and the land routes connecting various regions
of Yemen have been reported, including arbitrary detentions, enforced
disappearances, travel bans, mistreatment, extortion, intimidation,
and discrimination based on regional, local, minority, gender, or any
other basis.
The
Observatory recalls that this arbitrary travel ban on Mwatana’s
members is part of a broader campaign of harassment against the
organisation, including its management, and its team. On June 18,
2018, Radhya Al-Mutawakel and Abdul-Rashid Al-Faqih were arbitrarily
detained by the Saudi/UAE-led coalition at Seiyun Airport, eastern
Yemen. Abdul-Rashid Al-Faqih was also detained by internationally
recognised government forces and Islah Party at Al-Fulj checkpoint,
in Marib, on June 14, 2018, while he was on his way to travel through
Seiyun Airport with Radhya Al-Mutawakel. On March 4, 2017, upon his
return from an international conference in Jordan, organised by the
International Federation of Journalists and the Yemeni Journalists
Syndicate, and attended by several international organisations, the
Ansar Allah (Houthi) group arbitrarily detained and interrogated
Abdul-Rashid Al-Faqih at Sana'a International Airport, seized his
passport and prevented him from travelling.
The
Observatory strongly condemns the obstacle to freedom of movement and
arbitrary travel ban on Radhya Al-Mutawakel, Abdul-Rashid Al-Faqih,
and three other members of Mwatana, and urges all parties to the
ongoing conflict in Yemen to put an end to all acts of harassment
against them and all other human rights defenders in Yemen, and
ensure in all circumstances that they are able to carry out their
legitimate activities and exercise their rights without any hindrance
and fear of reprisals.
The
Observatory further calls on all parties to the ongoing conflict in
Yemen to uphold freedom of movement and to lift all arbitrary travel
restrictions on human defenders and all citizens in the country, as
enshrined in the Constitution of Yemen as well as in international
human rights standards, and in particular in Article 12 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Particularly,
the Observatory calls on the de
facto
Ansar Allah (Houthi) authorities to reopen and lift all arbitrary
restrictions on the travel of Yemeni through Sana'a Airport and its
checkpoints along the highways linking the governorates, and on the
internationally recognised government of Yemen to reopen
and remove all restrictions imposed on Yemeni airports currently
partially operating.
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