Michigan – The American Center for Justice (ACJ) stated that the participation of Abdulkader Al-Murtada, Head of the Houthi Committee on Detainee Affairs, and his deputy Murad Qasim in the Muscat negotiations concerning the issue of #detainees and #hostages is unacceptable. This is in light of international reports and #credible testimonies linking them to cases of torture and enforced disappearance over the past years.
The Center believes that including individuals named in records of serious violations in a humanitarian negotiation track raises concerns about the integrity of the negotiation process and the safeguarding of victims’ rights. Therefore, the #United_Nations must give special consideration to these issues when managing such sensitive files.
ACJ notes that on December 10, four recently released Yemeni journalists, Abdulkhaleq Amran, Tawfiq Al-Mansouri, Harith Hameed, and Akram Al-Walidi, sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General, in which they confirmed that during their eight years of detention, they were subjected to the most severe forms of #torture and inhumane treatment. They reported that Al-Murtada and his deputy were directly involved in these #violations, including documented incidents of severe beatings and torture, notably the violent assault on journalist Tawfiq Al-Mansouri in August 2022, which caused him permanent injury.
The American Center for Justice emphasizes that these testimonies reinforce the findings of international reports. Al-Murtada was listed on December 9, 2023, in the #US_sanctions list for serious violations of detainees’ rights. Additionally, the UN Security Council Panel of Expert documented in its report dated November 2, 2023, instances of torture and enforced disappearance directly linked to Al-Murtada, naming him in the annex detailing violations.
ACJ calls on the UN Secretary-General to take #immediate action to pressure the Houthi group to replace its current negotiating delegation, and to issue a clear condemnation of the violations committed by Al-Murtada and his deputy in line with UN reports and international sanctions. The Center also urges referring their violations to mechanisms addressing torture, enforced disappearance, and #arbitrary_detention, and to include them in international sanctions lists as individuals responsible for crimes amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Center stresses the necessity for the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen to cease any negotiating engagement with them, ensuring they are not granted any political cover or negotiating legitimacy, while guaranteeing the meaningful inclusion of victims or their representatives in any discussions regarding the #detainee file, to prevent this #humanitarian issue from being exploited as a political tool or a space for rehabilitating perpetrators.
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