Houthis Bury Prisoners Tortured to Death

A picture released by Houthis showing a mass grave they dug to bury bodies in Dhamar a few days ago | Asharq Al-Awsat
A picture released by Houthis showing a mass grave they dug to bury bodies in Dhamar a few days ago | Asharq Al-Awsat
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Houthis Bury Prisoners Tortured to Death

A picture released by Houthis showing a mass grave they dug to bury bodies in Dhamar a few days ago | Asharq Al-Awsat
A picture released by Houthis showing a mass grave they dug to bury bodies in Dhamar a few days ago | Asharq Al-Awsat

Yemeni human rights activists accused Iran-backed Houthis of digging mass graves for dozens of civilians who had died under torture in militia prisons.

Defending themselves, Houthis said the bodies being buried belong to unidentified persons left in hospital morgues in areas under coup control.

A few days ago, Houthis admitted to burying 35 bodies in a mass grave in Dhamar Governorate, located 100 km south of Sanaa. This was a part of the group’s plan to bury more than 700 bodies over different stages in the governorates of Hodeidah, Sanaa, and Dhamar.

While Houthis are believed to empty morgues at hospitals to make room for the bodies of militants who died in battle, activists accused them of seeking to conceal the truth about brutal crimes committed against detainees.

Dozens of those detained in Houthi prisons are dying under gruesome torture, Yemeni activists said.

The Houthi-styled state news agency in Sanaa announced that the group has launched the fourth phase of a plan to bury unidentified corpses stored in hospital morgue freezers in Dhamar city.

Houthis are planning to put in the ground 715 corpses preserved in morgues at hospitals in areas under their control.

Coup media also reported on the fourth stage soon expanding to reach governorates and cities other than Dahmar.

Since the start of 2020, Houthis have managed to entomb 232 bodies over three stages carried out in Sanaa, Hodeidah, and Dahmar.

On March 9, coinciding with the outbreak of the coronavirus, Houthis launched the first phase of burying unidentified bodies.

Undersecretary of Human Rights Ministry Majed Fadael, commenting on the topic, did not rule out that those bodies belonged to detainees who died under torture in Houthi prisons.

“These bodies belong to kidnapped civilians who have been killed under torture and mutilated to the point where it is difficult to identify them, so the inability to identify them is the pretext for burying them," Fadael said.



US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
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US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on what it said was a Houthi-linked petroleum smuggling and sanctions evasion network across Yemen and the United Arab Emirates in fresh action targeting the Iran-backed militant group.

The US Treasury Department in a statement said the two individuals and five entities sanctioned on Tuesday were among the most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis.

"The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group’s access to the international financial system," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender.

"These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis’ terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes."

Among those targeted on Tuesday was Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, who the Treasury said manages a network of petroleum companies between Yemen and the United Arab Emirates and was one of the most prominent petroleum importers in Yemen.

Three companies in his network were also designated, with the Treasury saying they coordinated the delivery of approximately $12 million dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum products with a US-designated company to the Houthis.

Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian group Hamas began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.

In January, Trump re-designated the Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization, aiming to impose harsher economic penalties in response to its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and against US warships defending the critical maritime area.

In May, the United States announced a surprise deal with the Houthis where it agreed to stop a bombing campaign against them in return for an end to shipping attacks, though the Houthis said the deal did not include sparing Israel.

The Israeli military attacked Houthi targets in Yemen's Hodeidah port on Monday in its latest assault on the militants, who have been striking ships bound for Israel and launching missiles against it.