Latest news with #AbdulkhaleqImran
The National
20-02-2025
- Politics
- The National
Yemen's Houthi rebels are faced with a stark choice
"They beat us, not to extract information from us. They had all our data on our phones and devices. They beat us because we posed an existential threat to them." This harrowing testimony from Yemeni journalist Abdulkhaleq Imran, published by The National yesterday, does more than many dry reports and briefings to expose the paranoia, insecurity and violence that characterises the country's Houthi rulers. Imram, who was abducted nine years ago after the militants seized Yemen's capital and overthrew the government, knows more than most about the autocratic and thuggish rule of an organisation that brooks no dissent. Despite years of keeping Yemen on a destabilising and near-permanent war footing, the Houthis remain an entrenched presence in one of the world's poorest nations. At an international conference on Yemen held in Amman this week, Shaya Zindani, Yemen's Foreign Minister, struck a pessimistic tone about his nation's future. 'Yes, there's a ceasefire and the military activities have largely waned but we don't see an end to the war any time soon,' he said. 'There isn't a vision that allows us to say that peace is at the door.' There are many reasons to share Mr Zindani's sobering assessment. The Houthis had been inching closer to a peace agreement, brokered by Riyadh, to end the years-long war until the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel galvanised the rebels. Since then, Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea, ostensibly in support of the Palestinians, has caused widespread economic turmoil, obstructed shipments of humanitarian aid and led to Israeli and US air strikes on Yemen. Domestically, much of the country remains in a state of grim precarity made worse by the Houthis' grip on power. The kind of arbitrary detention Mr Imram went through has been experienced by others. The UN recently suspended all humanitarian operations the Houthi-controlled region of Saada in response to the arrest of several of its staff; on February 11, the World Food Programme confirmed that one of its staff members had died in Houthi custody. Such crackdowns on international aid groups in Yemen are not new. Since the group took over Sanaa in 2014, the Houthis have been accused of kidnapping, arbitrarily detaining and torturing hundreds of civilians, including UN and NGO personnel. In June, the rebels detained 13 UN staff members, including six from the Human Rights Office, more than 50 charity workers and a US embassy employee. The group claimed it had uncovered 'an American-Israeli spy network' operating under the guise of humanitarian organisations but the consequence has been the undermining of aid efforts to help a malnourished and impoverished civilian population. However, others in the international community remain more optimistic that a way out of this impasse can be found. Speaking to the Security Council last Friday, UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg said 'elements of the roadmap for peace already provide a framework for the way forward, and the parties committed to a nationwide ceasefire as the first step'. This would, he added, 'pave the way to a structured political process through inclusive negotiations under the auspices of the UN'. The Houthis have a consequential choice to make – whether to maintain control over a collapsing, isolated country through brute force at home while shaking down shipping companies in the Red Sea or – recognising that the so-called Axis of Resistance has faltered across the region – de-escalate and work to ensure their political survival by re-engaging in a talks process. Although choosing a pragmatic path forward won't help Imram and dozens of other detainees forget their ill-treatment at the hands of these militants, it may be a first step to breaking the cycle of violence that has held Yemen's people back for far too long.
Yemen Online
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yemen Online
‘They called us enemies of God': Yemeni journalist describes torture in Houthi jail
The National - Today, he sits in black suit and tie which covers the scars inflicted on him during eight years of detention and torture by Yemen's Houthi rebels. Abdulkhaleq Imran was abducted nine years ago after Houthi militias seized Yemen's capital Sanaa and overthrew the government. He was detained along with eight other journalists, and sentenced to death five years later. "Calling it a death sentence legitimises it, and limits its meaning. It was a religious fatwa [edict]. I am at risk at all times," he told The National on the sidelines of the Yemen International Forum in Amman. Mr Imran was released in a UN-mediated prisoner exchange two years ago, but not before he suffered psychological and physical torture that caused irreversible damage to his health. Heart disease, liver enlargement, kidney and joint infections, a slipped disc, respiratory infections and nerve pain are some of the ailments that Mr Imran hides beneath his sleek outfit. But the pain appears on his face every time he tells his story or shifts in his seat. "I was placed in solitary confinement, in a cell that's less that one-by-one metre big. It was filthy, cold and grim. When they took us out, they would hang us up against the wall and crucify us, beating us until we bled, then deny us medical help," he said, using the lanyard of his conference ID to demonstrate. Just after they took over, the Houthis cracked down hard on the media, which they accused of undermining their ideological cause and belief that they are the righteous leaders of Yemen. "They beat us not to extract information from us. They had all our data on our phones and devices. They beat us because we posed an existential threat to them." Mr Imran said that the constant transfer of prisoners like him from one place to another was sometimes a risk to their lives, as they were kept at locations that could be struck by forces fighting the Houthis. "They used us as human shields when they put us in weapons depots. Being moved it was as if they were transporting us from hell to Hades." Brainwashing Although his case was widely covered by international NGOs and media, Mr Imran says one of the lesser-known facets of the torture inflicted on the Houthis' prisoners was psychological. "They would play tapes for hours, from sundown to 12am, of a religious Houthi leader who would pray out loud for our demise and for our lineage to disappear. They called us not only enemies of the state, but enemies of God," he said. During these attempts to brainwash prisoners, Mr Imran said, the religious leaders would refer to them as "hypocrites and apostates". When asked whether he considered telling his captors that he was convinced by their rhetoric so that they would stop torturing him, he replied: "Never. Sympathising with your abuser is becoming devoid of dignity." Mr Imran says it was his and his colleagues' deep belief in their rights as journalists that helped them to remain resilient during their time in captivity. After he was released, Mr Imran says he found his family living in tents, among the 4.5 million people displaced by the 10-year-old war. Search for justice One of the men Mr Imran says abused him and his colleagues personally is Abdulkader Al Murtada, head of the Houthi prisoner exchange committee and negotiator. Mr Al Murtada was sanctioned by the US last year after the UN found that he was complicit in "inhuman treatment", based on prisoners' testimonies. Mr Imran and his freed colleagues are still searching for justice. "We are currently making efforts to file a lawsuit before the national judiciary against leaders of the terrorist Houthi militias who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against us," he said. In targeting Mr Al Murtada and the leader of the militia, Abdulmalik Al Houthi, Mr Imran hopes to see his torturers on trial at the "international level". He says that even if the Houthis fall and their grip on Yemen weakens, he does not want to see the men who tortured him escape accountability. "This is the only way to protect journalists, civilians and society as a whole from a repeat of such crimes," he said.
The National
19-02-2025
- Politics
- The National
‘They called us enemies of God': Yemeni journalist describes torture in Houthi jail
Today, he sits in black suit and tie which covers the scars inflicted on him during eight years of detention and torture by Yemen's Houthi rebels. Abdulkhaleq Imran was abducted nine years ago after Houthi militias seized Yemen's capital Sanaa and overthrew the government. He was detained along with eight other journalists, and sentenced to death five years later. "Calling it a death sentence legitimises it, and limits its meaning. It was a religious fatwa [edict]. I am at risk at all times," he told The National on the sidelines of the Yemen International Forum in Amman. Mr Imran was released in a UN-mediated prisoner exchange two years ago, but not before he suffered psychological and physical torture that caused irreversible damage to his health. Heart disease, liver enlargement, kidney and joint infections, a slipped disc, respiratory infections and nerve pain are some of the ailments that Mr Imran hides beneath his sleek outfit. But the pain appears on his face every time he tells his story or shifts in his seat. "I was placed in solitary confinement, in a cell that's less that one-by-one metre big. It was filthy, cold and grim. When they took us out, they would hang us up against the wall and crucify us, beating us until we bled, then deny us medical help," he said, using the lanyard of his conference ID to demonstrate. Just after they took over, the Houthis cracked down hard on the media, which they accused of undermining their ideological cause and belief that they are the righteous leaders of Yemen. "They beat us not to extract information from us. They had all our data on our phones and devices. They beat us because we posed an existential threat to them." Mr Imran said that the constant transfer of prisoners like him from one place to another was sometimes a risk to their lives, as they were kept at locations that could be struck by forces fighting the Houthis. "They used us as human shields when they put us in weapons depots. Being moved it was as if they were transporting us from hell to Hades." Although his case was widely covered by international NGOs and media, Mr Imran says one of the lesser-known facets of the torture inflicted on the Houthis' prisoners was psychological. "They would play tapes for hours, from sundown to 12am, of a religious Houthi leader who would pray out loud for our demise and for our lineage to disappear. They called us not only enemies of the state, but enemies of God," he said. During these attempts to brainwash prisoners, Mr Imran said, the religious leaders would refer to them as "hypocrites and apostates". When asked whether he considered telling his captors that he was convinced by their rhetoric so that they would stop torturing him, he replied: "Never. Sympathising with your abuser is becoming devoid of dignity." Mr Imran says it was his and his colleagues' deep belief in their rights as journalists that helped them to remain resilient during their time in captivity. After he was released, Mr Imran says he found his family living in tents, among the 4.5 million people displaced by the 10-year-old war. One of the men Mr Imran says abused him and his colleagues personally is Abdulkader Al Murtada, head of the Houthi prisoner exchange committee and negotiator. Mr Al Murtada was sanctioned by the US last year after the UN found that he was complicit in "inhuman treatment", based on prisoners' testimonies. Mr Imran and his freed colleagues are still searching for justice. "We are currently making efforts to file a lawsuit before the national judiciary against leaders of the terrorist Houthi militias who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against us," he said. In targeting Mr Al Murtada and the leader of the militia, Abdulmalik Al Houthi, Mr Imran hopes to see his torturers on trial at the "international level". He says that even if the Houthis fall and their grip on Yemen weakens, he does not want to see the men who tortured him escape accountability. "This is the only way to protect journalists, civilians and society as a whole from a repeat of such crimes," he said.
