Yemeni security and political sources estimate that over 5,000 individuals have been detained in association with the annual celebration of the September 26 Revolution, primarily in the Ibb governorate.
The arrest campaign, led by Ali Hussein al-Houthi, the son of the group’s founder, continues under the directive of the newly established police intelligence unit by Abdul Karim al-Houthi, the Interior Minister of the coup government and uncle of the group’s leader.
According to sources in Houthi-controlled areas, the new intelligence unit is tasked with suppressing any popular movements opposing the Houthi regime, targeting those labeled as the ‘fifth column’ within its ranks.
This unit is complemented by the so-called “Security and Intelligence Apparatus,” responsible for pursuing political opponents, supporters of the legitimate government, journalists, and feminist activists, while the “Preventive Security” is tasked with recruiting agents and protecting the group’s organizational structure.
The arrest campaign, which began on September 20 in Ibb (193 kilometers south of Sanaa) and spread to Sanaa, Dhamar, Hajjah, Amran, and Hodeidah, has affected thousands, with at least 3,000 detainees in Ibb alone and an estimated 1,500 in Sanaa, along with dozens more across other regions. Among the detainees are children and teenagers.
The campaign also targeted 21 leaders from the “General People’s Congress,” founded by the late President Ali Abdullah Saleh, along with activists from leftist parties.
The majority of the detainees are young independents and teenagers who oppose the Houthi regime and advocate for the return of the republican system, accused by the group of raising the Yemeni flag or participating in nationalist songs or social media posts.
Families of the detainees in Ibb and Sanaa report that the Houthis have demanded detainees sign pledges not to raise the national flag or celebrate the Yemeni revolution’s anniversary, a condition criticized by Abdu Bishr, a former minister in the coup government and a member of the parliament under Houthi control.
Bishr described the condition as “illogical and irrational,” condemning the continued arrests and disappearances without legal justification.
Additionally, Yemeni activists and intellectuals have appealed to the Houthi authorities for the immediate release of six out of eight lawyers detained by the “Security and Intelligence Apparatus,” following their demand for the release of a colleague arrested in Hodeidah over two weeks ago.
Despite the Lawyers’ Syndicate’s appeal to the head of the Houthi governing council for their release, the activists confirmed the arrest of the lawyers due to their advocacy efforts.
