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Yemenis Angry over Death of 2 Detainees Under Torture in Militia Prisons

Dozens of Saada governorate's IDPs staged a protest sit-in Saturday in Marib governorate (Saba)
Dozens of Saada governorate's IDPs staged a protest sit-in Saturday in Marib governorate (Saba)
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Yemenis Angry over Death of 2 Detainees Under Torture in Militia Prisons

Dozens of Saada governorate's IDPs staged a protest sit-in Saturday in Marib governorate (Saba)
Dozens of Saada governorate's IDPs staged a protest sit-in Saturday in Marib governorate (Saba)

The death of two Yemenis under torture in Houthi prisons sparked widespread human rights anger on Monday, amid accusations that the militias had killed 300 civilians abducted in the same way over the course of eight years.

According to Yemeni human rights reports, one civilian and one military detainees died as a result of severe torture in the prisons of the terrorist Houthi militia in the capital, Sanaa.

The Musawah Organization for Rights and Freedoms said in a statement that it received a report from the family of Munaser Al-Rasas, a 40-year-old detainee, confirming his death under severe torture in the prisons of the Houthi militia, seven months after he was kidnapped from his home in the district of Maswarah.

The Organization said it received a similar report from the family of Yemeni soldier Hadi Hussein Salem Al-Shani, 26, confirming his death under torture in a Houthi jail in the capital.

It added that the brutal interrogation techniques of Houthis in regions under their control lead to the death of the detainees.

In July 2022, Musawah had documented the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ killing of 300 detainees under torture in their prisons since their coup in Yemen in September 2014.

Meanwhile, Yemeni human rights activists fear the militias will execute prisoners, including the last batch of detainees from the governorate of Saada.

Last month, Houthis ordered the execution of 16 individuals in Saada governorate for collaborating with their opponents, the Yemeni government and the Saudi-led Arab Coalition.

During the weekend, the forcibly displaced peoples of Saada have condemned illegal execution sentences issued by Iran-allied Houthi militias against several individuals in Saada.

The protestors issued a statement in which they decried the militias' illegal and unfair execution verdicts against 32 Yemenis from Saada.

They also called on the UN, International Community and Human Rights Council to condemn the execution sentences, and mount pressure on the terrorist Houthi group to release the abductees.

Meanwhile in Riyadh, member of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Aidarous al-Zabidi, received Sunday the Dutch ambassador to Yemen, Peter Derrek Hof.

The two officials discussed the latest developments in Yemen in light of the efforts made at the regional and international levels to end the war and bring peace to Yemen and the region.

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.