Houthi militias have detained 30 people who took part in a protests in Yemen's Sanaa over the killing of a young man, demanding that the perpetrators be brought to justice.
The arrests were denounced by the Yemeni government and human rights groups.
The protests demanded revealing the details of the murder of the young man, who was apparently tortured by Houthi militiamen before his death.
Human rights sources based in Sanaa told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Iran-backed Houthi group, out of panic, intensified its deployment of militants across the capital's streets for the past two days.
Houthis had up scaled deployment out of fear of renewed demonstrations that accuse them of torturing and killing Abdullah Al-Aghbry, sources added.
The sources also clarified that Houthis have resorted to wide-spread arrests as a tactic to counter the possibility of Yemenis breaking the barrier of fear and protesting against Houthi corruption inside Houthi-held territories
The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms denounced the Houthis’ detaining of 30 protesters who took to street in support of Al-Aghbry’s case.
A video circulating on social media that showed five people torturing Al-Aghbry enraged the public and have triggered protests in Sanaa since Saturday.
In an official statement, the Network called for unveiling the details and truths behind the torture and killing of Al-Aghbry and making them public. It also demanded holding the perpetrators accountable.
Houthi militias have banned the organization of any protest in Ibb governorate, located 170 kilometers south of Sanaa, the Network reported.
The Iran-backed group also barred a team of seven lawyers from attending the investigation sessions held with the five perpetrators in Al-Aghbry’s murder.
Information Minister Muammar Al-Aryani shared a video of the protest and said it showed that people did not trust Houthi security services or judicial authorities.
“The massive popular protests in Sanaa against the torture and killing of Abdullah Al-Aghbry by five murderers, including an officer in the Houthi-run Preventive Security, confirms the lack of confidence in the militia's procedures and fears that it might manipulate the case and hide involvement of its leaders,” the minister tweeted on Monday.
