Michigan - The American Center for Justice (ACJ) reported that the Houthi-run Specialized Criminal Appeals Court in Sana'a, has issued a ruling to increase the prison sentence of detainee "Hanan Shua'i Al-Muntasir" from 12 years to 13 years.

The ACJ indicated that it has been monitoring the case of "Al-Muntasir" since the moment of her abduction on July 3, 2019, following political charges against her and her forced confession under torture and coercion.

The Houthi group detained "Hanan" for two years before referring her to court, in clear violation of the Criminal Procedures Law, the Yemeni constitution, and human rights agreements.

According to the center's monitoring of the trial procedures, the court rejected the defenses presented by her lawyer, claiming that the charges made by the security services, represented by counterterrorism, were valid, despite Hanan's statement that she was forced to sign documents whose content she did not know while blindfolded and under torture.

It should be noted that the detainee, Hanan Al-Muntasir, is the sole provider for five children, one of whom is autistic, and her elderly mother. They were displaced to Sana'a in 2018 due to the military operations in Al-Hudaydah Governorate that year. She was abducted and accused of spying for the Arab Coalition countries and providing coordinates of military sites and homes of Houthi leaders.

The American Center for Justice (ACJ) calls on the Houthi group to release all female prisoners in its custody, and to stop illegal trials and the violation of the basic rights of political detainees.