GENEVA – Geneva Council for Rights and Justice (GCRJ) condemned today the continued arbitrary detention of human rights activists working for the international aid organization “Saveworld” more than two weeks ago by Ansar Allah Ao, the so-called Houthi group. The Council warned of the repercussions of this incident on the humanitarian work in Yemen, which lives the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
GCRJ said in a statement that the continued detention of Acting Director of Yemen for Saveworld Oufi Al-Na’ami and the program’s director Hassan Al-Qutari represented unjustified behavior and a clear violation of human rights and public freedoms.
The council believes that the arbitrary arrest of al-Na’ami and al-Qutari is part of the systematic policies followed by the “Houthis” of oppression and persecution of human rights activists.
The arrest of al-Na’ami and al-Qutari coincided with the closure of the Ansar Allah group at the headquarters of the international aid organization Saveworld in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a after it stormed and confiscated its contents and arrested two of its officials.
GCRJ confirms that such a measure carries negative repercussions for the relief activity in Yemen in light of the suffering of Yemen from the worst humanitarian crisis in the world that erupted in the outbreak of war in 2015, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians, while 80% of the population needs medical and relief assistance .
