Yemen’s Bin Aziz: Dozens of Prisoners Died under Torture in Houthi Prisons

Yemen’s Chief of Staff Saghir bin Aziz meets with Daphnee Maret, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Yemen, in Marib. (Saba)
Yemen’s Chief of Staff Saghir bin Aziz meets with Daphnee Maret, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Yemen, in Marib. (Saba)
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Yemen’s Bin Aziz: Dozens of Prisoners Died under Torture in Houthi Prisons

Yemen’s Chief of Staff Saghir bin Aziz meets with Daphnee Maret, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Yemen, in Marib. (Saba)
Yemen’s Chief of Staff Saghir bin Aziz meets with Daphnee Maret, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Yemen, in Marib. (Saba)

Yemen’s Chief of Staff Saghir bin Aziz accused the Iran-backed Houthi militias of killing dozens of detainees under torture in their prisons.

He called for international pressure to be exerted on the militias to make them cease their violations, especially regarding the torture of prisoners and recruitment of children.

He made his remarks in wake of government and rights reports that said the Houthis have intensified their campaign of arrests against politicians, even among leading members of the General People's Congress in Sanaa.

The militias have also accused prisoners of collaborating with the United States and Israel, with rights groups expressing their concern that they may be executed.

Bin Saghir held talks in Marib with Daphnee Maret, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Yemen, on the situation of the prisoners held in Houthi jails and efforts carried out by rights groups in addressing the militias’ crimes and violations, reported the Saba state news agency.

Bin Saghir stressed that Yemen’s legitimate authorities are offering all forms of support to the ICRC so that it can perform its duties. He added that the Houthis continue to violate international laws and commit crimes against wrongfully detained prisoners.

Meanwhile, Information Minister in the legitimate government Moammar Al-Eryani strongly condemned the Houthi campaign of arrests, which he said targeted Sanaa and other regions under their control.

He said the militias are closely watching the remaining members of the General People's Congress who are still living in regions under their control.

Dozens of their members have been recently detained by the militias.

The Houthis are also keeping lawmakers, politcal and tribal figures, and former state officials under close watch. Many have been barred from travel.

Such practices demonstrate that the Houthis are terrorists, who reject partnership and coexistence with others. They adopt force, violence and terror to consolidate their power in complete disregard of human rights, he went on to say.

Eryani called on the international community and United Nations to end their “terrible shameful silence” over the Houthi violations and work seriously toward putting an end to their “systematic crimes.”

He also urged them to designate the militias as terrorist, stop their sources of funding and support the legitimate government in imposing its control over all Yemeni territories.

The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms condemned the Houthis for their attempt to execute some 11 citizens in the Tihamah region on charges of collaborating with the US and Israel.

In a statement to the media, it said the Houthis “continue to use the judiciary to oppress their opponents and people who reject their criminal practices against civilians in areas under their control.”

“They are trying through all criminal and terrorist means to silence free civil voices,” it added.

It stressed that the Houthis have used the judiciary in recent years as a means to settle scores with political rivals, issuing death penalties against hundreds of journalists, activists and women.

The Houthis have issued over 400 death sentences against opponents.

It said their “ugliest crime was the execution in cold blood of nine Tihamah residents in Sanaa’s central square in September 2021.”



Türkiye Backing Syria’s Military and Has No Immediate Withdrawal Plans, Defense Minister Says 

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler attends a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on establishing a mine countermeasures naval group in the Black Sea, aimed at clearing mines floating there as a result of the war in Ukraine, in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 11, 2024. (Reuters)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler attends a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on establishing a mine countermeasures naval group in the Black Sea, aimed at clearing mines floating there as a result of the war in Ukraine, in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 11, 2024. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Backing Syria’s Military and Has No Immediate Withdrawal Plans, Defense Minister Says 

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler attends a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on establishing a mine countermeasures naval group in the Black Sea, aimed at clearing mines floating there as a result of the war in Ukraine, in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 11, 2024. (Reuters)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler attends a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding on establishing a mine countermeasures naval group in the Black Sea, aimed at clearing mines floating there as a result of the war in Ukraine, in Istanbul, Türkiye, January 11, 2024. (Reuters)

Türkiye is training and advising Syria's armed forces and helping improve its defenses, and has no immediate plans for the withdrawal or relocation of its troops stationed there, Defense Minister Yasar Guler told Reuters.

Türkiye has emerged as a key foreign ally of Syria's new government since opposition groups - some of them backed for years by Ankara - ousted former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December to end his family's five-decade rule.

It has promised to help rebuild neighboring Syria and facilitate the return of millions of Syrian civil war refugees, and played a key role last month getting US and European sanctions on Syria lifted.

The newfound Turkish influence in Damascus has raised Israeli concerns and risked a standoff or worse in Syria between the regional powers.

In written answers to questions from Reuters, Guler said Türkiye and Israel, which carried out its latest airstrikes on southern Syria late on Tuesday, are continuing de-confliction talks to avoid military accidents in the country.

Türkiye’s overall priority in Syria is preserving its territorial integrity and unity, and ridding it of terrorism, he said, adding Ankara was supporting Damascus in these efforts.

"We have started providing military training and consultancy services, while taking steps to increase Syria's defense capacity," Guler said, without elaborating on those steps.

Named to the post by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan two years ago, Guler said it was too early to discuss possible withdrawal or relocation of the more than 20,000 Turkish troops in Syria.

Ankara controlled swathes of northern Syria and established dozens of bases there after several cross-border operations in recent years against Kurdish militants it deems terrorists.

This can "only be re-evaluated when Syria achieves peace and stability, when the threat of terrorism in the region is fully removed, when our border security is fully ensured, and when the honorable return of people who had to flee is done," he said.

NATO member Türkiye has accused Israel of undermining Syrian peace and rebuilding with its military operations there in recent months and, since late 2023, has also fiercely criticized Israel's assault on Gaza.

But the two regional powers have been quietly working to establish a de-confliction mechanism in Syria.

Guler described the talks as "technical level meetings to establish a de-confliction mechanism to prevent unwanted events" or direct conflict, as well as "a communication and coordination structure".

"Our efforts to form this line and make it fully operational continue. Yet it should not be forgotten that the de-confliction mechanism is not a normalization," he told Reuters.