Michigan - The American Center for Justice (ACJ) said that the expropriation of citizens’ property and the seizure of their homes by the Houthi group is a serious violation that affects the right to property, which is one of the most important fundamnetal rights guaranteed by the Yemeni constitution. The center called on the Houthi group to stop its violations against individuals’ property through the use of coercive force at times and formal judicial decisions at other times and to return the property to its owners unconditionally.

In this context, the ACJ notes that it checked a letter issued by the Director of the Judicial Guard Office. The document contained a demand directed to the residents of the building of activist and lawyer “Khaled Saleh Al-Ansi” to evacuate the residential building within a maximum period of one mont, so that the group can sieze the building, based on a decision to impose a precautionary seizure on all Al-Insi’s funds and properties.

The correspondence, which Al-Ansi published on his X account and was transmitted by many activists, included justification for the eviction decision, as stated in the letter of correspondence addressed to the residents of the residential building, "Based on the judicial decisions issued by the Specialized Criminal Court of First Instance regarding the imposition of precautionary seizure on all funds and movable and real estate properties owned by the detainees accused of committing crimes affecting the security of the state, aiding the enemy, and communicating with a foreign country and appointing a judicial guard over these funds and properties.”

The Houthi group seized the property and real estate of lawyer and activist Khaled Al-Ansi at the beginning of last year under the pretext of his “cooperation with hostile countries” and “communication with a foreign country.” Thus, “Al-Ansi”becomes the latest victim whose property was confiscated by the Houthi group.

Since 2020, the Houthi group has been pursuing its political opponents, activists, and even individuals by confiscating their property in Sana'a and other Houthi- controlled areas through issuing judicial decisions by the courts operating under its administration, relying on illegal pretexts in order to give legitimacy to those decisions.

The American Center for Justice (ACJ) affirms that confiscating land or attacking residents and depriving them of their property violates Yemeni laws, which stipulate that a person’s right to ownership of property or land must be protected from any threats of eviction or deprivation of the home or land.

The center emphasized that the Houthi group's continuation of such attacks constitutes a serious violation of the rules of the Constitution and must be ended. 

The (ACJ) calls on the Houthi group to stop confiscating the property of individuals, especially its political opponents, and stresses that the decisions and rulings issued by the Houthi-run courts are constitutionally invalid as they constitute a violation of one of the basic rights guaranteed by the law, calling on the group to enable individuals to enjoy their homes and property without threat or deprivation.