The Houthi group continued its arrest campaign against Yemenis celebrating the September 26th revolution anniversary and apprehended on Wednesday more than 12 young individuals in the al-Sabeen Square, according to human rights sources and families.
Earlier, the group released dozens of individuals detained for raising the national flag and participating in the celebrations commemorating the September 26th revolution.
Activists and lawyers reported that the Houthi Interior Minister, Abdulkarim al-Houthi, ordered the release of 40 detained youth on charges related to raising the national flag and participating in the popular celebrations.
The families and lawyers of the detainees in Sanaa confirmed that this order was conditional on the released detainees paying a fine exceeding $400 for each, in addition to a written acknowledgement that they had committed a mistake when they went out to celebrate the revolution's anniversary.
The families of the detainees were also asked to bring a guarantee from a tribal leader loyal to the Houthis or one of the merchants or a pledge certified by the neighborhood officials.
- Demands for release
While demands continue for the release of all 1,500 detained young men in Sanaa, lawyers and families revealed that the arrest campaign continued targeting young men suspected of participating in the celebrations.
The sources refuted the Houthi claims of releasing all detainees, stating that last Sunday, more than 12 young individuals, including two minors under 15, were arrested by Houthi intelligence elements.
Most detainees were taken from al-Sabeen Square to the Allayh Police Station.
According to the statements provided by the families of the detainees, Houthi security agencies have accused their sons of raising the national flag and participating in the celebrations of the September 26th revolution.
The families mentioned that some of their members were imprisoned simply for inquiring about the whereabouts of their detained relatives.
They noted that the identity of some young individuals who have been arrested and detained in the police department in Sanaa remains unknown because officials refuse to disclose their information, even to their relatives inquiring about them.
The families renewed their demands for information on the fate of their sons and their immediate release, as there is no legal basis for their detention.
- Suppression
Houthi leader and Dhamar governor Mohammed al-Bukhaiti claimed that the issue is not related to raising the Yemeni flag but to what he called "aggression."
In an explicit acknowledgment of the ongoing arrests, Bukhaiti stated that the Houthi followers are entitled to raise the national flag because others are fighting alongside the enemies.
He alleged that the popular celebration of the September 26th revolution is a "clear conspiracy."
Human rights sources mentioned that the Houthis forced university professor Ibrahim al-Kabsi to stop writing against them. They were forced to sign a document vowing not to write against the group as a condition for his release.
A former Houthi leader, Mohammed al-Maqalih, revealed that he had seen new photos showing the extent and brutality of the attack against al-Kabsi and the threats and extortion he faced during his detention.
Maqalih addressed the Houthis, emphasizing that they cannot silence the truth, even if they physically eliminate its advocates.
