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Tag: Houthis

  • Inadequate Humanitarian Response Raises the Prospect of a Humanitarian Catastrophe

    Inadequate Humanitarian Response Raises the Prospect of a Humanitarian Catastrophe

    Statement by the American Center for Justice (ACJ) on Forced Displacement and the Deterioration of Humanitarian Conditions in Yemen

    The American Center for Justice (ACJ) is closely monitoring the complex humanitarian consequences arising from the waves of forced displacement caused by the military escalation initiated by the Houthi militia, as well as the ongoing clashes and direct shelling affecting several Yemeni governorates.

    According to documented statistical data issued by the Executive Unit for the Management of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camps, as of 8 September 2026, 6,269 families, comprising 44,149 individuals, have been displaced. They have been forced to leave their homes and abandon their livelihoods and property under the direct threat to their lives and safety.

    The displaced population is distributed across several host areas, with Taiz Governorate receiving the largest number, hosting 4,492 families comprising 31,444 individuals, distributed across 12 districts. It is followed by Al-Hudaydah Governorate, which hosts 1,471 families comprising 10,297 individuals, most of whom are concentrated in the districts of Hays and Al-Khawkhah. Lahj Governorate has received 182 families comprising 1,274 individuals across five host districts. In addition, Aden Governorate has recorded 104 families comprising 728 individuals in the districts of Dar Saad, Al-Mansoura and Al-Buraiqah, while Abyan Governorate hosts 58 families comprising 406 individuals in camps in the districts of Khanfar and Zinjibar.

    The figures contained in the report reflect serious shortcomings in the adequacy of humanitarian interventions and the response of relief organizations. This gap is particularly evident in Aden Governorate, where, as of the date of the report’s preparation, no sectoral humanitarian response or emergency assistance had been recorded for newly displaced families. Of these, 57 families are living with host families that are themselves already facing severe livelihood pressures.

    In Al-Hudaydah Governorate, food assistance has been limited to 35 interventions for a displaced population of 1,471 families, revealing a severe shortage of food assistance. Their suffering is further compounded by the tangible lack of safe drinking-water supplies, the deterioration of sanitation and shelter services, and shortages in emergency health care and protection services. This places the most vulnerable groups, including children, women, older persons, persons with disabilities, and families living with chronic illnesses, at escalating health and humanitarian risk.

    The American Center for Justice affirms that the continued fighting and shelling constitute the direct cause of the displacement of thousands of families and the deprivation of their fundamental right to safety and stability. The Center further considers that making the provision of life-saving assistance contingent upon the completion of surveys and detailed assessments results in prolonging the suffering of victims and compounding the risks they face.

    Accordingly, the Center calls upon all parties to immediately cease military operations and shelling affecting residential areas, and to comply with the rules of international humanitarian law in order to protect civilians.

    The Center also urges international organizations and donor entities to mobilize financial and operational resources and to deliver humanitarian assistance in the areas of food, shelter, water and health care in parallel with field assessment and verification processes. It further calls for prioritizing support for areas where no humanitarian response has been available, establishing dedicated protection programmes for the most vulnerable groups, and supporting host communities that are themselves suffering the effects of war even before becoming host communities. Failure to do so will further intensify pressure on already limited resources and raise the prospect of a humanitarian catastrophe with potentially far-reaching and unbounded consequences.

    Issued by the American Center for Justice (ACJ)
    10 September 2026

  • ACJ Condemns Houthi Attack on a Displacement Camp in Marib and Calls for Accountability

    ACJ Condemns Houthi Attack on a Displacement Camp in Marib and Calls for Accountability

    The American Center for Justice (ACJ) condemns the missile attack that targeted a camp for displaced persons today in Raghwan District, Marib Governorate, killing two children and injuring 15 others, most of them children.

    According to field information, Houthi militias targeted the camp with a ballistic missile, in a direct attack on civilians who had been forced to flee their homes to escape the armed conflict.

    The targeting of gatherings of displaced persons and civilian objects constitutes a serious violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, and further compounds the suffering and tragedy endured by the affected population.

    The American Center for Justice calls for these attacks to cease immediately and urges United Nations bodies and the international community to take serious steps to ensure accountability and to open independent investigations that lead to the prosecution of those responsible for these crimes and prevent them from escaping punishment.

    Issued by the American Center for Justice (ACJ)
    September 8, 2026

  • The American Center for Justice (ACJ) Condemns Houthi Escalation of Widespread Violence in Hodeidah and Taiz, Warns of Severe Humanitarian Fallout

    The American Center for Justice (ACJ) Condemns Houthi Escalation of Widespread Violence in Hodeidah and Taiz, Warns of Severe Humanitarian Fallout

    The American Center for Justice (ACJ) condemns in the strongest terms the launch of a new wave of violence and extensive military escalation by the Houthi group, which has targeted nine districts across the governorates of Taiz and Hodeidah with artillery shelling, ballistic missiles, and armed drones. ACJ regards this offensive as a deliberate decision to ignite a new cycle of armed hostilities and a repeated breach of de-escalation opportunities, placing hundreds of thousands of civilians and displaced communities under immediate, grave danger.

    Field data and recent official records—including the urgent appeal issued by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation—confirm that the scope of Houthi strikes has expanded to encompass populated villages and shelter sites for internally displaced persons (IDPs) across the districts of Maqbanah, Al-Mokha, Jabal Habashi, Mawza, Al-Ma’afir, Al-Wazi’iyah, and Dhubab in Taiz Governorate, alongside Hays and Al-Khawkhah in Hodeidah Governorate. This intense bombardment has triggered renewed waves of forced displacement, compounding the suffering of families who had previously fled conflict zones, and provoking a severe, multifaceted humanitarian crisis that threatens infectious disease outbreaks, food shortages, and acute shelter deprivation in areas already devoid of basic infrastructure and emergency facilities.

    The Center notes that pushing military forces toward strategic heights and coastal corridors adjacent to the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the southern Red Sea reflects an established pattern of utilizing military escalation as an instrument of extortion and territorial dominance by force. Directing strikes against densely populated villages and temporary shelter sites constitutes a flagrant breach of the rules of International Humanitarian Law, which mandate that conflict parties maintain strict distinction between civilian objects and military objectives, prohibit indiscriminate attacks, and classify forced displacement under threat of arms as a grave violation warranting international criminal accountability.

    Furthermore, ACJ emphasizes that this escalation is intrinsically tied to the systematic impoverishment policy enforced by the de facto authority in Sana’a. The appropriation of public resources, the suspension of civil service salaries, and the monopolization of relief channels have created conditions of absolute economic dependency. Deprivation has been turned into a mechanism of societal control, rendering frontline enlistment an unavoidable survival tactic to secure daily sustenance, while humanitarian aid is instrumentalized to extract political allegiance and subordination. Prolonging armed conflict provides the group with a pretext to reinforce emergency rule, suppress public freedoms, and criminalize civic and labor organizing, thereby forestalling any popular momentum demanding basic services or holding authorities accountable for resource governance.

    Accordingly, the American Center for Justice (ACJ) calls for:

    • The UN Security Council and the UN Special Envoy for Yemen: Unequivocally condemn this offensive, explicitly designate the party responsible for initiating this wave of violence, and exert decisive pressure to halt military expansion toward the coastline and maritime corridors, ensuring the protection of defenseless civilians.
    • The UN Panel of Experts and International Criminal Mechanisms: Launch an immediate, independent investigation into the deliberate shelling of IDP shelter camps and residential neighborhoods across the nine districts, and document the names of military commanders issuing the strike orders to pursue legal prosecution and ensure perpetrators do not escape accountability.
    • UN and International Humanitarian Agencies: Fulfill their legal and moral duties to protect vulnerable populations, reject the military weaponization of socioeconomic crises, and implement strict auditing to guarantee that humanitarian relief is never compromised as leverage for political bartering or coerced recruitment.

    Issued by the American Center for Justice (ACJ)

    September 5, 2026

  • Enforced Disappearance in Yemen: A Systematic Strategy of Repression and a Revenue Stream for the War Economy

    Enforced Disappearance in Yemen: A Systematic Strategy of Repression and a Revenue Stream for the War Economy

    American Center for Justice Launches “A Deliberate Absence” Study:

    Enforced Disappearance in Yemen: A Systematic Strategy of Repression and a Revenue Stream for the War Economy

    The American Center for Justice (ACJ) has launched its comprehensive human rights and investigative study entitled “A Deliberate Absence: The Strategy of Enforced Disappearance and the Networks of Secret Detention Centers in Yemen.” The study examines and deconstructs the practices of enforced disappearance and the networks of unofficial detention facilities operated by the parties to the conflict. It reveals the transformation of enforced disappearance from an occasional security measure into a deliberate policy aimed at subjugating society and removing civil and political actors from public life, while simultaneously transforming it into a source of revenue that sustains extortion networks affiliated with the war economy. These networks demand exorbitant sums from victims’ families in exchange for preliminary information or false promises of release.

    The study provides a geographical map of secret detention centers and documents the seizure by armed formations of vital civilian facilities and their conversion into unlawful detention sites outside the scope of the law. These include the Al-Saleh Prison Complex in Taiz; the detention facility of the Security and Intelligence Service in Sarif, Sana’a; the network of prisons at Bir Ahmed Camp and Wadah Hall in Aden; and the prisons at Al-Rayyan Airport in Mukalla and Al-Ghaydah Airport in Al-Mahrah. The study also exposes patterns of administrative and psychological deception practiced by the de facto authority (the Houthi group), including the repeated and tightly controlled transfer of detainees in order to sever avenues of tracing, paralyze the oversight role of the judiciary, and target lawyers, as occurred in the case of the disappearance of lawyer Abdul Majeed Sabra. It further documents the belated disavowal of criminal responsibility through unsubstantiated claims, as manifested in the case of political leader Mohammed Qahtan, who has been forcibly disappeared since April 2015.

    The study highlights the social and economic impact of the disappearance of breadwinners, which impoverishes families and forces them to sell their assets and property to cover the costs of extortion. It further documents the use of systematic detention as a means of effecting demographic change and emptying areas of their original inhabitants, in addition to using the detention of relatives as a tool of pressure against displaced persons and activists abroad in order to sever networks of social solidarity and financial support.

    The study provides a dual legal characterization of the documented facts, characterizing them as war crimes under Article 8 of the Rome Statute and Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, and as crimes against humanity pursuant to Article 7(1)(i) of the Rome Statute. It emphasizes that the prohibition of enforced disappearance constitutes a peremptory norm of general international law (jus cogens) and that its customary-law status is binding upon all, without being extinguished by the passage of time. The study identifies the levels of individual criminal responsibility of the leaders who issue orders, field supervisors, and perpetrators. It also establishes the international responsibility of the United Arab Emirates on the basis of Article 8 of the Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts and the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, in view of the established evidence of its effective control, its establishment of the armed formations, and the assumption by its field officers of the management of secret prison networks in the southern governorates.

    In its study, the American Center for Justice calls upon the United Nations Security Council to make the comprehensive disclosure of the fate of disappeared persons and their unconditional release a separate humanitarian item within negotiation tracks; to expand targeted sanctions to include leaders, prison supervisors, and extortion networks; and to refer the file of violations in Yemen to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court pursuant to Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. The Center calls upon the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to clarify the field restrictions imposed upon it and to uphold its powers to conduct regular, unconditional inspections of all places of detention. It further urges judicial and prosecutorial authorities in states applying the principle of universal jurisdiction to open comprehensive criminal investigations and issue international arrest warrants against those involved.

    The study urges the United Arab Emirates and the forces involved in the conflict to comply with the rules of customary international law and the law of state responsibility, put an end to policies of denial, disclose the fate of detainees in prisons managed by their field officers, and provide fair compensation and comprehensive reparation. It calls upon the de facto authorities and armed formations to immediately release all disappeared persons, dismantle the secret facilities and open them to oversight by public prosecution authorities and the judiciary, halt financial extortion, and protect lawyers and witnesses.

    The study calls upon the internationally recognized Yemeni government to complete the procedures for ratification and deposit its instrument of accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, harmonize its national penal legislation accordingly, and establish an independent national body for missing persons. It also calls upon human rights organizations and associations of victims’ families to establish a centralized DNA database to preserve biological evidence and safeguard the rights of victims and their families to know the truth and obtain judicial accountability.

  • American Center for Justice Condemns Houthi Reneging on Prisoner-Exchange Agreement and Warns of Undermining Peace Efforts

    American Center for Justice Condemns Houthi Reneging on Prisoner-Exchange Agreement and Warns of Undermining Peace Efforts

    The American Center for Justice (ACJ) strongly condemned the Houthi group’s withdrawal from its commitments under the Amman understandings concerning the exchange of prisoners and abductees. The Center described the move as a violation of de-escalation efforts and a deliberate exploitation of humanitarian issues to achieve political gains at the expense of the suffering of civilians and arbitrarily detained persons.

    In a statement, the Center said it had received urgent appeals for assistance from the families of abductees, indicating that the group was seeking to derail the United Nations-sponsored agreement. It noted that reneging on these commitments prolongs periods of detention, exposes detainees to physical and psychological violations in detention facilities that fail to meet even minimum humanitarian standards, and compounds the uncertainty and anxiety experienced by their families.

    The statement stressed that the detention of civilians and the use of their cases as bargaining tools violate fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and deprive individuals of their right to liberty and security of person, as guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights instruments. It further emphasized that using this issue as a tool of political pressure constitutes a form of extortion prohibited under international law, while the continued practice of enforced disappearance and torture constitutes serious violations requiring those responsible to be held criminally accountable.

    The Center warned of the serious repercussions of this reversal on peacebuilding efforts in Yemen, stating that it undermines the credibility of United Nations mediation efforts and allows the Houthi group to continue disregarding international conventions and obligations. It added that exploiting the suffering of prisoners deepens social wounds, prolongs the conflict, and leaves victims’ families vulnerable to ongoing psychological and financial exploitation.

    The American Center for Justice (ACJ) called on the international community and the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen to take concrete action and exert meaningful pressure to compel the group to fulfill its commitments under the Amman understandings without preconditions. It also called on international bodies to intensify their monitoring and documentation of violations committed against abductees and to pursue available legal avenues to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable and do not enjoy impunity.

    Full Statement

    Statement on the Houthi Group’s Delays in Implementing the Amman Agreement on the Exchange of Prisoners and Abductees

    The American Center for Justice (ACJ) strongly condemns the Houthi group’s withdrawal from its commitments under the understandings reached in Amman, the capital of Jordan, concerning the exchange of prisoners and abductees.

    This reversal constitutes a flagrant violation of de-escalation efforts and reveals the deliberate exploitation and instrumentalization of humanitarian issues to achieve political gains at the expense of the suffering of civilians and arbitrarily detained persons.

    The Center has received urgent appeals for assistance from the families of abductees indicating that the Houthi group is obstructing the implementation of the United Nations-sponsored agreement, under which the parties committed to ending the suffering of thousands of detainees and facilitating their return to their families. This repudiation prolongs periods of detention, exposes detainees to further physical and psychological violations in detention facilities that fail to meet even minimum humanitarian standards, and compounds the suffering of families living in a state of constant uncertainty and anxiety regarding the fate of their loved ones.

    The detention of civilians and the use of their cases as bargaining tools violate fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. These practices deprive individuals of their right to liberty and security of person, as guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

    The use of the issue of abductees as a tool of political pressure constitutes a form of extortion prohibited under international law. The continued practice of enforced disappearance and torture also constitutes serious violations requiring criminal accountability for those responsible.

    Reneging on humanitarian agreements has serious repercussions for peacebuilding efforts in Yemen. It undermines the credibility of United Nations mediation efforts, while the absence of decisive international action allows the Houthi group to continue disregarding international conventions and obligations and places the international system before a moral and legal responsibility to protect civilians.

    The exploitation of the suffering of prisoners deepens social wounds, prolongs the conflict, and leaves victims’ families vulnerable to ongoing psychological and financial exploitation.

    The Center urgently calls on the international community and the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen to take concrete action and exert meaningful pressure to compel the Houthi group to fulfill its commitments under the Amman understandings without preconditions.

    The Center further emphasizes the need for international bodies to intensify their monitoring and documentation of violations committed against abductees and to pursue available legal avenues to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable and do not enjoy impunity.

    The Center calls for the humanitarian issue concerning prisoners and abductees to be separated from all political bargaining and for coordinated action to end, without delay, the suffering of all detainees and their families, in accordance with the principles of justice and equity.

    Issued by the American Center for Justice (ACJ)
    3 August 2026

  • American Center for Justice: Denial of Vaccines in Yemen Endangers 600,000 Children and May Constitute a War Crime

    American Center for Justice: Denial of Vaccines in Yemen Endangers 600,000 Children and May Constitute a War Crime

    The American Center for Justice (ACJ) condemned policies that deprive hundreds of thousands of children in Yemen of healthcare and immunization, rejecting the use of vaccines and medical supplies as instruments of political pressure or collective punishment in the context of the armed conflict.

    The Center stated that Yemen’s health crisis is worsening as a result of decisions that prevent comprehensive door-to-door vaccination campaigns, particularly in densely populated governorates under the control of the Houthi group. According to the Center, these policies, together with disinformation campaigns targeting vaccines, have left approximately 600,000 children without immunization. This figure represents 35 percent of all children who have not received vaccinations across the Middle East and North Africa region, while vaccination coverage for polio, measles, and diphtheria has fallen below 50 percent.

    The statement noted that more than 80 percent of children infected with measles had not received a single vaccine dose, while Yemen reportedly loses more than 100 children every day to preventable diseases. The Center warned that the situation could amount to a long-term process of destruction.

    The Center stated that this deprivation is incompatible with international humanitarian law and international criminal law. It cited Article 54 of Additional Protocol I and Article 14 of Additional Protocol II, which prohibit the starvation of civilians and the deprivation of objects indispensable to their survival. The Center also referred to the obligations set out in Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

    The Center stressed that the deliberate obstruction of access to medical supplies may constitute a war crime and may give rise to individual criminal responsibility under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It further stated that such conduct may amount to crimes against humanity where it is intended to subject populations to living conditions calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the population.

    The statement also highlighted the economic and demographic consequences of the crisis. The resurgence of epidemics such as polio may result in permanent disabilities that exclude thousands of people from the future workforce, push families into poverty, and force them to liquidate productive assets to meet emergency medical costs. According to the Center, these consequences erode human capital and divert limited resources toward emergency responses to human-made crises.

    The American Center for Justice called on the international community and United Nations agencies to intervene urgently to end the medical blockade, insulate the health sector from political and military considerations, and ensure that vaccination teams can operate without restrictions. The Center also called on international commissions of inquiry and the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to document these alleged violations and develop legal case files identifying the potential individual criminal responsibility of leaders implicated in restricting vaccination efforts. It further urged states exercising universal jurisdiction to initiate legal proceedings against those responsible for depriving civilians of healthcare and to ensure that they do not evade accountability.

    Statement on the Deprivation of Children of Vaccines and the Spread of Epidemics in Yemen

    The American Center for Justice (ACJ) unequivocally condemns the systematic policies that deprive hundreds of thousands of children in Yemen of their fundamental right to healthcare and immunization. The Center also rejects the use of vaccines and health supplies as instruments of political pressure or collective punishment in the context of the armed conflict.

    Yemen’s health crisis is worsening as a result of deliberate decisions that prevent comprehensive door-to-door vaccination campaigns, particularly in densely populated governorates under the control of the Houthi group.

    The number of children deprived of immunization is approaching 600,000, equivalent to 35 percent of all children who have not received vaccines across the Middle East and North Africa region. These restrictive policies are accompanied by organized disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining confidence in vaccines and have contributed to vaccination coverage for polio, measles, and diphtheria falling below 50 percent.

    Available statistics indicate that more than 80 percent of children infected with measles had not received a single vaccine dose. Yemen reportedly loses more than 100 children every day to preventable diseases, making the situation akin to a long-term process of destruction.

    The Center maintains that this deliberate deprivation constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and international criminal law. Article 54 of Additional Protocol I and Article 14 of Additional Protocol II prohibit the starvation of civilians and the deprivation of objects indispensable to their survival.

    The Center further maintains that the deliberate obstruction of medical supplies from reaching civilians constitutes a war crime giving rise to individual criminal responsibility under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It adds that such conduct may amount to crimes against humanity where populations are subjected to harsh living conditions intended to bring about the destruction of part of the population.

    This denial violates the core obligations set out in Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which require all parties to protect children from disease and provide comprehensive immunization programmes.

    The impact of these policies extends beyond a public health setback. It undermines the foundations of the local economy and affects the demographic structure of Yemeni society, both now and in the future. The resurgence of deadly epidemics such as polio may result in permanent disabilities that exclude thousands of people from future economic participation, increase poverty and dependency, and force families to liquidate productive assets to meet emergency medical costs.

    These pressures deepen poverty, divert resources away from development projects and the improvement of essential services, erode human capital, which is the principal driver of societal recovery, and trap scarce financial resources in emergency responses to human-made crises.

    The American Center for Justice (ACJ) calls on the international community and United Nations agencies to intervene immediately to end the medical blockade imposed on children in Yemen. The Center emphasizes the need to insulate health-related issues from political and military considerations and to guarantee unhindered access for vaccination teams to reach all households without restriction.

    The Center calls on international commissions of inquiry and independent United Nations mechanisms to document these alleged violations and develop comprehensive legal case files identifying the potential individual criminal responsibility of leaders who issue decisions restricting vaccination campaigns or incite opposition to vaccines. The Center also urges the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to receive communications concerning these alleged crimes.

    The Center appeals to states that apply the principle of universal jurisdiction to initiate legal proceedings and pursue those implicated in depriving Yemeni civilians of essential healthcare. It calls for measures to ensure that those responsible do not evade accountability and to protect future generations from gradual destruction.

    Issued by the American Center for Justice (ACJ)
    July 30, 2026

  • Lawyers Under Attack by Authorities: Iran Arrests and Tortures, Tunisia Imprisons, and the Houthis Kidnap

    Lawyers Under Attack by Authorities: Iran Arrests and Tortures, Tunisia Imprisons, and the Houthis Kidnap

    The American Center for Justice (ACJ) expresses its deep concern over the escalating campaign of systematic repression targeting lawyers and judges across the Middle East and North Africa. This statement highlights three serious cases that reveal a consistent pattern of state authorities using their authority as a tool to suppress the independent defence of human rights.

    On 1 April 2026, officers from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence raided the home of prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh in Tehran, arrested her for the fifth time, and confiscated her electronic devices. During her detention, she was reportedly subjected to serious human rights violations, including beatings, the shackling of her hands and feet, and detention in inhumane conditions, as documented by Front Line Defenders. She was released on bail on 13 May 2026 after being charged with “propaganda against the state” in connection with her public statements concerning the government’s repression and Iran’s nuclear programme.

    Sotoudeh’s case is not an isolated incident. According to documentation by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), at least 32 lawyers were arrested, brought before the courts, or imprisoned between January and June 2026. Documented cases include the arrest of lawyer Elham Zeraatpisheh, who was later sentenced to six years’ imprisonment, along with the confiscation of her passport; the arrest and enforced disappearance of lawyer Setareh Ansari in Fars Province in May 2026; and the sentencing of lawyer Javad Alikordi to eighteen years’ imprisonment.

    These patterns amount to a systematic assault on the independence of lawyers in Iran, in violation of Articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as Principle 16 of the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.

    In Tunisia, on 6 April 2026, the Tunis Court of Appeal sentenced Judge Anas Hamdi, President of the Tunisian Judges Association, to one year’s imprisonment on charges of “obstructing the freedom to work” under Article 136 of the Tunisian Penal Code. The charges stemmed from his role in the 2022 judges’ strike, which was organised in defence of judicial independence in response to presidential decrees dismissing fifty-seven judges. Hamdi had previously represented the dismissed judges in legal proceedings, which appears to have been the actual motive behind his prosecution.

    Three United Nations Special Rapporteurs explicitly expressed their “grave concern” over the case, stating that the conviction targets legitimate trade union activity. The case forms part of a broader pattern of repression affecting hundreds of opposition figures, lawyers, and civil society members in Tunisia. According to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, at least eight lawyers are currently serving prison sentences, including the former President of the Tunisian Bar Association.

    This conviction constitutes a clear violation of Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees the right to freedom of association, including the right to form and join trade unions, as well as the United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary.

    In Yemen, the Houthi de facto authorities continue to arbitrarily detain human rights lawyer Abdulmajeed Sabra, who has been held since 25 September 2025. On that date, Houthi militia forces raided his law office in the Shumaila district of Sana’a and abducted him without a judicial warrant. Sabra has remained in detention for more than nine months in facilities operated by the Houthi Security and Intelligence Service in the Sarf area, north of Sana’a, without being formally charged or brought before a judicial authority.

    In protest against his continued unlawful detention, Sabra undertook a hunger strike. While in custody, the Houthi authorities demanded that he abandon his human rights work, cease representing detainees, and refrain from publishing political views in exchange for his release. Despite his coerced acceptance of these conditions, they failed to honour their commitment to release him. Furthermore, Sabra’s brother documented that Houthi personnel threatened family members who had publicly advocated for his release on social media with arrest.

    Sabra is one of Yemen’s leading advocates for the rights of individuals detained in Houthi prisons. His continued detention constitutes a clear violation of Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which prohibits arbitrary detention, as well as the provisions of international humanitarian law protecting civilians.

    A United Nations communication issued by five Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups of the UN Human Rights Council called for the direct legal accountability of the Houthi de facto authorities, in their capacity as the de facto authorities in Sana’a, for the arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of the prominent human rights lawyer Abdulmajeed Sabra.

    These three cases demonstrate that the targeting of lawyers and judges is not the result of isolated incidents but reflects a systematic policy. The authorities in Iran, Tunisia, and Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen are criminalising legitimate legal work and using it as a pretext to silence independent voices and render the guarantees of a fair trial meaningless.

    The American Center for Justice (ACJ) calls for:

    • The withdrawal of all charges against human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and all lawyers detained in Iran in connection with their legitimate human rights work, as well as the establishment of an independent investigation into allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment.
      • The immediate and unconditional release of human rights lawyer Abdulmajeed Sabra and all individuals arbitrarily detained in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
    • The annulment of the conviction against Judge Anas Hamdi and an end to the judicial proceedings targeting lawyers and judges in Tunisia on the basis of their legitimate trade union activities.
    • The United Nations Human Rights Council and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to issue clear and public statements addressing these cases.

    American Center for Justice (ACJ).

  • Arbitrary Detention and Enforced Disappearance of a Citizen in Sana’a Over His Religious Advocacy Activities

    Arbitrary Detention and Enforced Disappearance of a Citizen in Sana’a Over His Religious Advocacy Activities

    Eyewitnesses informed the American Center for Justice (ACJ) that a security force affiliated with the Houthi group arrested the citizen “Ayman Dhabyan Mohammed” in front of a mosque in the Airport area of the capital, Sana’a, while he was on his way to perform Maghrib prayer, and took him to an undisclosed location.

    Dhabyan works operating a mobile ice cream cart. According to testimonies, the force, using a military vehicle and official uniforms, carried out the arrest without presenting any legal justification or arrest warrant issued by the public prosecutor’s office. The detainee is currently being subjected to enforced disappearance, as local police stations in the area have denied responsibility for his detention and have provided conflicting information to his family regarding his whereabouts, shifting responsibility between the district administration and the intelligence apparatus.

    Dhabyan is known for his voluntary religious outreach activities, including delivering sermons and religious lessons within his local community. His arrest comes within a broader context aimed at suppressing independent social actors, monopolizing public space, and preventing any religious or guidance activities that are not under the group’s supervision and control.

    The American Center for Justice emphasizes that these practices constitute a blatant violation of the right to personal liberty and security, and an infringement on freedom of belief and expression. The Center calls for the immediate disclosure of Ayman Dhubyan’s fate and his unconditional release, holding the Houthi-affiliated security authorities legally and criminally responsible for his safety and life.

  • Statement: The American Center for Justice (ACJ) Calls for an End to Systematic Repression Against Journalists in Yemen

    Statement: The American Center for Justice (ACJ) Calls for an End to Systematic Repression Against Journalists in Yemen

    On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, 3 May, the Yemeni media community continues to face targeted violations that strike at the core of the profession and the safety of those who practice it. Journalism in Yemen has increasingly become a high-risk endeavor, placing practitioners in direct confrontation with repressive authorities whose names may differ, but whose practices converge in the silencing of free expression.

    Houthi Detention Facilities: Medical Neglect as a Form of Abuse
    The American Center for Justice (ACJ) expresses deep concern over the severe deterioration in the health condition of journalist Adel Al-Siyaghi, who is detained by the Houthi group in Sana’a. Al-Siyaghi is reportedly suffering from extensive skin ulcers and is being deliberately denied access to basic medical care.

    The Center considers the deliberate denial of medical treatment to a detainee as a form of systematic ill-treatment that may amount to torture, aimed at undermining the physical and psychological integrity of detainees. The group bears full legal and moral responsibility for the life and well-being of Al-Siyaghi, as well as all detained journalists under its control, each of whom represents a prolonged story of suffering.

    Aden: Undermining the Rule of Law and Arbitrary Detention
    In the interim capital, Aden, another pattern of violations is evident in the continued detention of journalist Naseh Shaker, despite a judicial order mandating his release.

    Failure to implement court rulings undermines the authority and effectiveness of the judiciary and reflects the dominance of security actors operating beyond constitutional oversight. This conduct constitutes a clear case of arbitrary detention and requires immediate compliance with the rule of law and accountability.

    Demands and Calls for Action
    Ensuring the protection of journalism in Yemen requires the international community to move beyond rhetorical condemnation toward concrete measures that guarantee the safety and rights of journalists. Accordingly, the American Center for Justice calls for:

    •⁠ ⁠Immediate Release: The unconditional release of all detained journalists across all Yemeni governorates.

    •⁠ ⁠Urgent Medical Intervention: Allowing medical missions and international organizations to access Adel Al-Siyaghi and provide him with immediate and necessary treatment.

    •⁠ ⁠Respect for the Rule of Law: The prompt enforcement of judicial decisions ordering the release of Naseh Shaker, and an end to the overreach of security bodies over judicial authority.

    •⁠ ⁠International Accountability: Prioritizing violations against journalists in Yemen within international investigative mechanisms to ensure accountability and prevent impunity.

    The American Center for Justice affirms that the resilience of Yemeni journalists in the face of these challenges remains a vital safeguard for truth. Standing in solidarity with their just causes is a legal and moral obligation that cannot be deferred.

  • Press Release: Sniping of Children in Taiz .. Systematic Houthi Exploitation of Civilian Vulnerability

    Press Release: Sniping of Children in Taiz .. Systematic Houthi Exploitation of Civilian Vulnerability

    The American Center for Justice (ACJ) unequivocally condemns the ongoing sniper attacks targeting civilians in the city of Taiz. The latest victim, 14-year-old Ibrahim Jalal Amin, was fatally shot by a Houthi-affiliated sniper positioned in the Al-Mawshaki area while returning home from school on April 5. This incident reflects a recurring pattern of conduct that deliberately targets individuals least able to protect themselves or respond to hostile fire.

    The deployment of precision sniper weapons equipped with advanced optics provides the perpetrator with clear visual identification of the victim, thereby eliminating any plausible claim of accidental or indiscriminate harm. The targeting of children and women in densely populated civilian areas constitutes a deliberate and calculated military practice aimed at crippling community life and engineering demographic displacement. By turning school routes and water collection points into zones of lethal risk, these actions impose gradual forced displacement, effectively transforming residential neighborhoods into depopulated buffer zones that facilitate military domination.

    Within this framework, the systematic targeting of economically and socially vulnerable populations represents a deliberate strategy to consolidate front lines at minimal operational cost. By focusing on families compelled by necessity to remain in high-risk areas and unable to afford displacement, perpetrators achieve localized deterrence while avoiding retaliatory dynamics that might arise from targeting members of armed groups or influential tribal networks. Consequently, these vulnerable populations are left exposed to sustained sniper threats, their daily existence reduced to a continuous mechanism of coercion, and their communities transformed into environments governed by entrenched fear.

    These field-based violations are compounded by a media discourse that deliberately obscures accountability by promoting misleading narratives about the political beneficiaries of condemning such crimes. This tactic seeks to detach the criminal act from its material reality, disregarding the fact that the gunfire originates from positions under the group’s control following deliberate identification of the victim. By shifting the discourse from the physical crime scene to speculative political interpretation, this narrative performs a dual function: concealing the direct perpetrator and fostering a climate of legal paralysis that enables ongoing violations and facilitates impunity.

    In light of these grave and ongoing abuses, the American Center for Justice stresses that routine international condemnations have failed to deter this pattern of violence and have contributed to the instrumentalization of vulnerable civilians as bargaining tools. ACJ therefore calls on the international community and the UN Special Envoy to adopt concrete and enforceable measures to halt this human attrition. These include lifting the siege on Taiz, ensuring the withdrawal of military positions overlooking civilian neighborhoods, and activating international accountability mechanisms through rigorous criminal documentation that links each violation to its direct perpetrator as well as the chain of command responsible for authorizing and sustaining such acts. These steps are essential to breaking the cycle of impunity and ensuring effective protection for civilian lives.