struggle within Islam – CounterVortex https://countervortex.org Resisting Humanity's Downward Spiral Wed, 08 Jul 2026 17:28:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://countervortex.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/newsflash_logo-1-300x300.png struggle within Islam – CounterVortex https://countervortex.org 32 32 Iran-linked terror conspiracy case in Bahrain https://countervortex.org/blog/iran-linked-terrorism-conspiracy-case-in-bahrain/ https://countervortex.org/blog/iran-linked-terrorism-conspiracy-case-in-bahrain/#respond Wed, 08 Jul 2026 17:27:13 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25395 held its first hearing in a national security case involving 19 defendants accused of forming and operating a terrorist organization allegedly linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The case concerns 19 individuals, of whom 11 are currently in custody and eight remain at large. Prosecutors allege the group sought to destabilize Bahrain's political order, obstruct government institutions, undermine national unity, and ultimately overthrow the constitutional system. The defendants are also accused of efforts to spread political messaging aligned with wilayat al-faqih, the governance theory of Iran's cleric-led political system. (Photo: Pixabay via Jurist)]]> Bahrain’s High Criminal Court held its first hearing July 5 in a national security case involving 19 defendants accused of forming and operating a terrorist organization linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The case concerns 19 individuals, of whom 11 are currently in custody and eight remain at large. Prosecutors allege the group sought to destabilize Bahrain’s constitutional order, obstruct government institutions, undermine national unity, and ultimately overthrow the constitutional system. The defendants are accused of creating and managing an organization aimed at achieving these objectives through unlawful means.

Prosecutors further allege that the group attempted to influence religious gatherings, including ma’atam (ritual mourning in Shia tradition), and places of worship, using them to promote its ideology and encourage opposition to the Bahraini government. The alleged activities included efforts to spread political messaging aligned with wilayat al-faqih, the governance theory associated with Iran’s cleric-led political system. Prosecutors also charge that communication between the defendants and individuals linked to the IRGC were part of a coordinated effort to alter Bahrain’s political system.

The defendants are reported to have denied all charges.

The 19 defendants were among 41 people arrested in May in connection with the same investigation. Several individuals have already received life sentences in relation to alleged IRGC-linked spying and sabotage this year.

The next court hearing in the current case is scheduled for July 12.

From JURIST, July 6. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo: Pixabay via Jurist

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/iran-linked-terrorism-conspiracy-case-in-bahrain/feed/ 0 Syria: ‘Barrel Bomb Mufti’ on trial https://countervortex.org/blog/syria-barrel-bomb-mufti-on-trial/ https://countervortex.org/blog/syria-barrel-bomb-mufti-on-trial/#respond Wed, 01 Jul 2026 18:19:11 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25380 Ahmed Bareddin Hassoun, opened at the Palace of Justice in Damascus. Hassoun led Syria's official religious establishment under the Bashar Assad dictatorship. He is accused of incitement to murder and abusing his position as mufti to provide religious cover for the crimes of the regime, as well as participation in war crimes and crimes against humanity. He famously issued fatwas justifying the bombing of civilians and called the regime's use of indiscriminate barrel bombs "liberation," winning him the epithet "Barrel Bomb Mufti." He also issued a fatwa in 2017 authorizing the execution of detainees held at the notorious Sednaya Prison, where the Assad regime killed thousands, many through torture and starvation. (Photo: SANA via Arab News)]]>

The trial of Syria’s former grand mufti, Ahmed Bareddin Hassoun, opened at the Palace of Justice in Damascus on June 26. Hassoun led Syria’s official religious establishment under the Bashar Assad dictatorship. He is accused of incitement to murder and abusing his position as mufti to provide religious cover for the crimes of the regime, as well as participation in war crimes and crimes against humanity. He famously issued fatwas justifying the bombing of civilians and called the regime’s use of indiscriminate barrel bombs “liberation,” winning him the epithet “Barrel Bomb Mufti.” He also issued a fatwa in 2017 authorizing the execution of detainees held at the notorious Sednaya Prison, where the Assad regime killed thousands, many through torture and starvation.

Hassoun was arrested in March 2025, four months after the Assad regime fell, at Damascus Airport while trying to leave the country. The hearing was presided over by Judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan, who defected to the Syrian opposition in 2013 and had been sentenced to death by the Assad regime. (The New Arab)

See our last report on the Assad regime’s crimes.

Photo: SANA via Arab News

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/syria-barrel-bomb-mufti-on-trial/feed/ 0 Nigeria: gender-based violence against minorities https://countervortex.org/blog/nigeria-gender-based-violence-against-minorities/ https://countervortex.org/blog/nigeria-gender-based-violence-against-minorities/#respond Fri, 12 Jun 2026 19:11:38 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25341 IRIN)]]> UN rights experts on June 8 condemned Nigerian authorities in response to ongoing reports that mass killings, kidnappings, forced conversion, sexual violence, and enforced disappearances are disproportionately targeting women and girls in Christian and minority religious communities.

In commenting on the sheer gravity of the crimes, the experts stated:

The deteriorating security situation in northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt has created an environment in which armed extremist groups, including Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province [ISWAP], and radicalised individual herdsmen involved in the “farmer-herder” conflict continue to operate with devastating consequences for civilians, amid persistent reports of impunity, institutional failures, and inadequate protection by authorities.

Religious persecution in Nigeria against Christian and minority religious groups is a longstanding issue, with radical Islamic groups such as Boko Haram and various jihadist factions operating with the goal of eradicating the presence of these vulnerable groups and establishing strict Sharia law. Forced conversion is a commonly used tactic to exert control over these minority religious groups, with militants abducting schoolchildren from their educational institutions.

A high-profile example, which received international condemnation, was the 2014 Chibokschoolgirls kidnapping, in which 276 mostly Christian girls aged between 15 to 18 were kidnapped from a village in Borno state, forced to convert to Islam, subjected to sexual slavery, and forced to marry Boko Haram fighters. Although a large number of the girls managed to escape or have been released, the fate of a remaining 82 is uncertain. Tensions between settled Christian communities and Muslim semi-nomadic groups such as the Fulani have also exploded into violence; in December 2023, multiple villages were attacked in central Plateau state, resulting in at least 160 deaths.

June 2022 saw an armed attack on St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Ondo state during Sunday service that left over 50 people dead. In May 2022, Christian college student Deborah Yakubu was stoned to death by a mob in Sokoto state. Her murder came after her classmates accused her of making blasphemous sentiments in a WhatsApp group, an illustration of the deep ethnoreligious tensions in the West African region.

The widely reported executions of Christian students at Kaduna state’s Greenfield University in April 2021 resulted in rights groups criticizing the Nigerian government for its lack of accountability in protecting civilians. Religiously targeted sexual exploitation, with young women and girls sometimes coerced into performing sexual acts to access food, has also been seen in this culture of impunity.

From JURIST, June 8. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo: Hilary Matfess/IRIN

 

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/nigeria-gender-based-violence-against-minorities/feed/ 0 ICC orders reparations for Timbuktu war crime victims https://countervortex.org/blog/icc-orders-reparations-for-timbuktu-war-crime-victims/ https://countervortex.org/blog/icc-orders-reparations-for-timbuktu-war-crime-victims/#respond Fri, 08 May 2026 18:36:35 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25261 delivered an order on reparations for the victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz in Timbuktu between April 2012 and January 2013, when the Malian city was occupied by jihadist forces. Al Hassan was convicted by the ICC in 2024, and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. He is to bear financial liability for €7,250,000 in reparations to impacted communities and individuals. (Photo: WikiMedia Commons)]]> The International Criminal Court (ICC) on April 28 delivered an order on reparations for the victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz in Timbuktu between April 2, 2012, and Jan. 29, 2013, when the Malian city was occupied by jihadist forces.

Presiding Judge Kimberly Prost, in ICC’s Trial Chamber X, delivered the Reparations Order in the presence of Al Hassan and his defense team. Prost stated that the estimated number of victims amounted to 65,202. The Chamber ruled that “collective community-based reparations” were “appropriate to address the…type of harm suffered by the victims.” Prost outlined that this mode of reparations would “reach large numbers of victims in a less resource-intensive manner.” Al Hassan will “bear financial liability” for the reparations.

The Chamber emphasized the impact of Al Hassan’s crimes on girls and women in particular. Prost stated: “Women and girls suffered particular moral and material harm… This should be reflected in the planning, design, and implementation of all socio-economic rehabilitation projects and initiatives.”

In outlining costs, the Chamber ordered an estimated total of €4 million towards socio-economic and educational support programs, €1.2 million towards collective community-based psychological rehabilitation measures, €1.5 million for a limited individualized component, and €550,000 towards symbolic and satisfaction measures. The total liability for the harm caused to victims amounted to €7,250,000.

Al Hassan was convicted in June 2024 for crimes against humanity, including “torture, persecution, and other inhumane acts,” and the war crimes of “torture, outrages upon personal dignity, mutilation, cruel treatment and passing sentences without previous judgement pronounced by a regularly constituted court.” The ICC sentenced Al Hassan to 10 years of imprisonment on November 2024.

Crimes against humanity are prohibited under Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and are considered by the ICC as “among the most serious of crimes of concern to the international community as a whole.” War crimes are prohibited under Article 8 of the Rome Statute.

From JURIST, April 30. Used with permission.

Note: Al Hassan is among 13 ICC convictions. Another militant, Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi, pleaded guilty to cultural crimes in the destruction of Sufi shrines in Timbuktu.

Photo: WikiMedia Commons

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/icc-orders-reparations-for-timbuktu-war-crime-victims/feed/ 0 Fighting again erupts in Syria’s Suwayda https://countervortex.org/blog/fighting-again-erupts-in-syrias-suwayda/ https://countervortex.org/blog/fighting-again-erupts-in-syrias-suwayda/#respond Wed, 06 May 2026 18:26:09 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25257 as-Suwayda province between the central government's Internal Security Forces and Druze armed groups affiliated with the region's self-declared "National Guard." Fighters from the Guard's "501 Knights of Hamza" battalion attempted to advance toward government lines in the governorate's western countryside under heavy cover fire, including from truck-mounted machine-guns and rocket-launchers. Government forces responded with mortar fire. Since the fall of the Bashar Assad dictatorship in December 2024, Israel has occupied large areas of eastern as-Suwayda, and is believed to have dropped arms to Druze fighters in the region. The province has been effectively divided since fighting broke out last year between Druze militia and central government forces and their local Bedouin allies. (Map: Google)]]> Clashes broke out May 4 in Syria’s southern as-Suwayda (Suweida) province between the central government’s Internal Security Forces and Druze armed groups affiliated with the region’s self-declared “National Guard.” Fighters from the Guard’s “501 Knights of Hamza” battalion attempted to advance toward government lines in the governorate’s western countryside under heavy cover fire, including from truck-mounted machine-guns and rocket-launchers. Government forces responded with mortar fire. (TNA)

Since the fall of the Bashar Assad dictatorship in December 2024, Israel has seized and occupied large areas of eastern as-Suwayda, and is believed to have dropped arms to Druze fighters in the region. The province has been effectively divided since fighting broke out last year between Druze militia and central government forces and their local Bedouin allies. (ToI)

The new fighting came one day after Jordan carried out air-strikes on as-Suwayda, ostensibly targeting a depot storing arms and illicit drugs “controlled by rebel groups” in the village of Shahba. Contraband trade in the drug captagon has long been a source of revenue for warring factions in Syria. (AFP)

Syria’s transitional government continues to face other challenges. Damascus on May 5 announced that its forces had foiled a Hezbollah plot to assassinate members of President Ahmad al Shara’s government, with security forces seizing weapons and explosives in raids across the country. The raids, in which at least 11 people were detained, were the most extensive yet against Hezbollah since the fall from power of the group’s former patron Bashar Assad. (The National, UAE)

Map: Google

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/fighting-again-erupts-in-syrias-suwayda/feed/ 0 Iraq: women’s rights defender assassinated https://countervortex.org/blog/iraq-womens-rights-defender-assassinated/ https://countervortex.org/blog/iraq-womens-rights-defender-assassinated/#respond Mon, 16 Mar 2026 18:49:39 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25147 was killed outside her Baghdad residence by two unidentified men. No group has claimed responsibility for the assassination, and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani has ordered an investigation. International human rights organizations are urging authorities to identify the perpetrators and halt a continuing pattern of targeted attacks on activists in the country. Mohammed was co-founder and director of the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI). She was widely recognized for her work supporting women facing gender-based violence, which included establishing a network of safe houses across several Iraqi cities. (Photo via Facebook)]]> Prominent Iraqi women’s rights defender Yanar Mohammed was killed outside her Baghdad residence on March 2 by two unidentified gunmen. No group has claimed responsibility for the assassination.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has ordered an investigation into the killing. International human rights organizations are urging authorities to identify the perpetrators and halt a continuing pattern of targeted attacks on activists in the country.

Mohammed was the co-founder and director of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI). She was widely recognized for her work supporting women facing gender-based violence, which included establishing a network of safe houses across several Iraqi cities.

The assassination comes amid a deteriorating environment for women’s rights in Iraq. In February 2025, despite widespread opposition, the Iraqi government implemented amendments to the Personal Status Law. The revisions eliminated the legal marriage age of 18 and removed key protections regarding divorce and inheritance.

International rights groups heavily criticized the legislation prior to its enactment. Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the revisions for lowering the minimum age of marriage below international legal standards.

Razaw Salihy, Amnesty International’s Iraq researcher, also stated regarding the law: “Not only does child marriage deprive girls of their education, but married girls are more vulnerable to sexual and physical abuse, and health risks related to early pregnancy.”

Following Mohammed’s death, rights groups srtessed the government’s failure to protect activists. HRW stated that the assassination was entirely preventable, and aligns with a pattern of high-profile killings of human rights defenders in Iraq over the past decade.

Addressing the broader issue, Amnesty International stated: “The persistent failure of the Iraqi authorities to hold perpetrators accountable for past assassinations has entrenched a climate of impunity that continues to place activists at grave and fatal risk.”

From JURIST, March 14. Used with permission.

Note: Yanar Mohammed had long been an outspoken opponent of retrogressive changes to Iraq’s Personal Status Law.

See our 2004 interview with Yanar Mohammed.

Photo via Facebook

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/iraq-womens-rights-defender-assassinated/feed/ 0 New Taliban criminal code threatens women, minorities https://countervortex.org/blog/new-taliban-criminal-code-threatens-women-minorities/ https://countervortex.org/blog/new-taliban-criminal-code-threatens-women-minorities/#comments Mon, 09 Mar 2026 03:16:08 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=25131 condemned the recently adopted "Criminal Procedure Regulation for the Courts" in Afghanistan, saying that the legislation violates the rights of women, girls and minority groups in the country. Among critical aspects of the new law is its decriminalization of domestic violence in cases where a woman does not actually have visible injuries or broken bones (Article 32), and its imposition of a three-month prison sentence for a woman who undertakes to visit relatives without permission from her husband and does not comply with a court order to return home (Article 34). Under Article 34, women and girls in abusive situations will have less recourse to seek refuge with family, Amnesty found. Article 26 also officially designates Shia Muslims, who make up some 15% of the population, as "heretical." (Photo: ArmyAmber/Pixabay)]]> Amnesty International on March 6 condemned the recently adopted “Criminal Procedure Regulation for the Courts” (De Mahakumu Jazaai Osulnama) in Afghanistan, saying that the legislation violates the rights of women, girls and minority groups in the country.

Commenting on the severity of human rights violations effectively sanctioned by law under this new regulation, Amnesty International’s South Asia director Smriti Singh stated: “The regulation makes an already repressive legal system even more draconian. Women and girls are, of course, among the most affected, with provisions that normalize domestic violence and place even greater restrictions on their movement and autonomy.”

Among critical aspects of the new law is its decriminalization of domestic violence in cases where a woman does not actually have visible injuries or broken bones (Article 32), and its imposition of a three-month prison sentence for a woman who undertakes to visit relatives without permission from her husband and does not comply with a court order to return home (Article 34). Under Article 34, women and girls in abusive situations will have less recourse to seek refuge with family, Amnesty found.

Amnesty emphasized that the provision essentially isolates victims of abuse, and strips away their primary support systems, leaving them with no viable alternative but to remain in dangerous environments.

Additionally, the Taliban-imposed regulation not only discriminates on the basis of gender, but also marginalizes those who follow different religious beliefs, or are from a disadvantaged socioeconomic background.

Taliban policy divides the populace of Afghanistan into four different categories: religious scholars (ulama), the elite (ashraf, such as traditional tribal elders), the middle class, and the lower class. When the same crime is committed by individuals from different social classes, the type and severity of the punishment may vary, with scholars often only given “advice,” whereas offenders from the lower class are subjected to corporal punishment.

Statistics indicate that that about 15% of the population in Afghanistan are Shia Muslims, a group that routinely faces religious persecution from authorities. Fears surrounding their safety have only intensified in recent years. Article 26 and Article 2, Clause 8, of the regulation, which designate Shia Muslims as heretical, have served to compound the climate of fear and sectarian tension.

Alarmingly, the regulation uses the term “slave” (ghulam) as a legal category in several sections, raising concerns that the regulation aims to legitimize slavery. Freedom from slavery is recognized as a cornerstone of international human rights principles.

This latest legal development comes after a series of internationally condemned decrees by the Taliban government which have set women’s rights back by decades, effectively constituting gender apartheid.

From JURIST, March 7. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Note: Most Shi’ite Muslims in Afghanistan are members of the Hazara ethnic minority.

See our last report on the anti-woman crackdown in Afghanistan.

Photo: ArmyAmber/Pixabay

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/new-taliban-criminal-code-threatens-women-minorities/feed/ 2 Podcast: MAGA-fascism and the struggle in Nigeria https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-maga-fascism-and-the-struggle-in-nigeria/ https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-maga-fascism-and-the-struggle-in-nigeria/#comments Sun, 28 Dec 2025 23:35:43 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=24985 Christmas air-strikes on Nigeria, Trump is blundering into a conflict fundamentally driven by desertification related to the very climate change that he denies, and which now threatens democratic rule throughout the West African region. And while the Muslim-Christian sectarian strife that Trump hypes is a large element of the situation, the violence has gone both ways. Furthermore, making Christians the perceived beneficiaries of imperialist intervention is only likely to exacerbate the tensions and make Christians more of a target. In Episode 310 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg takes an in-depth and unsparing look. (Photo: AFRICOM via Long War Journal)]]> With his Christmas air-strikes on Nigeria, Trump is blundering into a conflict fundamentally driven by desertification related to the very climate change that he denies, and which now threatens democratic rule throughout the West African region. And while the Muslim-Christian sectarian strife that Trump hypes is a large element of the situation, the violence has gone both ways—and also targeted Muslim minorities such as Shi’ites, and even indigenous Jews. Furthermore, making Christians the perceived beneficiaries of imperialist intervention is only likely to exacerbate the tensions and make Christians more of a target. In Episode 310 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg takes an in-depth and unsparing look.

Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon.

Production by Chris Rywalt

We ask listeners to support us at one of our three tiers via Patreon: Become a Basic Supporter for just $1 per weekly podcast ($5 per month), or a Special Supporter for $2 per podcast ($10 per month), or a Major Rant Enabler for $5 per podcast ($25 per month). We now have 61 paid subscribers. If you appreciate our work, please become Number 62!

Photo: AFRICOM via Long War Journal

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-maga-fascism-and-the-struggle-in-nigeria/feed/ 1 Iran: halt execution of women’s rights activist https://countervortex.org/blog/iran-halt-execution-of-womens-rights-activist/ https://countervortex.org/blog/iran-halt-execution-of-womens-rights-activist/#respond Fri, 26 Dec 2025 19:24:54 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=24980 urged Iran to immediately halt the execution of Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, a 67-year-old electrical engineer detained at Lakan Prison in Rasht. In their statement, the experts detailed severe procedural violations, including arrest without a warrant, prolonged solitary confinement, a trial lasting less than ten minutes via video conference, and denial of access to a chosen lawyer. The experts emphasized that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Iran ratified in 1975, restricts the death penalty to the "most serious crimes," involving intentional killing. Experts noted that Tabari’s case—involving the possession of a banner with a protest slogan and an unpublished audio message—did not meet this threshold. The banner bore the words "Woman, Resistance, Freedom" —a popular slogan from the 2022 protests in Iran. (Photo: Iran Human Rights Society)]]> United Nations experts on Dec. 23 urged Iran to immediately halt the execution of Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, a 67-year-old electrical engineer detained at Lakan Prison in Rasht. In their statement, the experts detailed severe procedural violations, including arrest without a warrant, prolonged solitary confinement, a trial lasting less than 10 minutes via video conference, and denial of access to a chosen lawyer. The experts stated:

The severe procedural violations in this case—including the unlawful deprivation of her liberty, the denial of effective legal representation, the extraordinarily brief trial, the lack of adequate time to prepare a defence, and the use of evidence that appears insufficient to support a charge of baghi—render any resulting conviction unsafe.

The experts asserted that executing Tabari would violate the prohibition on arbitrary deprivation of life. They further emphasized that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Iran ratified in 1975, restricts the death penalty to the “most serious crimes,” involving intentional killing. Experts noted that Tabari’s case—involving the possession of a banner with a protest slogan and an unpublished audio message—did not meet this threshold. The banner bore the words “Woman, Resistance, Freedom” —a popular slogan from the 2022 protests in Iran.

A group of UN Special Rapporteurs issued the statement, warning that Tabari’s death sentence for the charge of baghi (armed rebellion), handed down on Oct. 25, was the result of a grossly unfair trial. Therefore, if carried out, the sentence would constitute an arbitrary execution. Iran also employs broadly defined charges such as moharebeh (waging war against God) against political activists, often based on scant evidence and through trials that lack fundamental due process.

The experts cited 51 other individuals facing the death penalty on similar charges as emblematic of Iran’s systematic use of capital punishment for vague national security offenses targeting dissent.  The current surge in executions comes amid a general crackdown on civil society.

While UN experts are in direct contact with Iranian authorities, their appeals carry no legal force. Whether Iran will heed this call, the outcome of any judicial review, and the fate of the other 51 individuals facing death on similar charges all remain uncertain.

From JURIST, Dec. 24. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo: Iran Human Rights Society

]]> https://countervortex.org/blog/iran-halt-execution-of-womens-rights-activist/feed/ 0 Yemen: Houthi authorities round up opposition https://countervortex.org/blog/yemen-houthi-authorities-round-up-opposition/ https://countervortex.org/blog/yemen-houthi-authorities-round-up-opposition/#comments Fri, 05 Dec 2025 18:00:23 +0000 https://countervortex.org/?post_type=blog&p=24914 detained dozens of political opponents since July, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported. The rights group said that at least 70 people associated with the opposition party Yemeni Congregation for Reform, or Islah, were detained in Dhamar governorate. HRW noted that 21 of these individuals have been subject to an "unfair trial" on "dubious accusations of espionage," with 17 sentenced to death by firing squad, and two sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. HRW emphasized that it is illegal under Yemeni law to make arrests without a warrant, and that detention without a legal basis or prompt charges and criminal proceedings violates both domestic and international law. (Map via PCL)]]> Houthi de facto authorities in Yemen have detained dozens of political opponents since July, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Nov. 27. The rights group said that at least 70 people associated with the opposition party Yemeni Congregation for Reform, or Islah, were detained on Oct. 28 in Dhamar governorate. HRW noted that 21 of these individuals have been subject to an “unfair trial” on “dubious accusations of espionage,” with 17 sentenced to death by firing squad, and two sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

HRW emphasized that it is illegal under Yemeni law to make arrests without a warrant and further stated that detention without a legal basis or prompt charges and criminal proceedings violates both domestic and international law.

Niku Jafarnia, HRW Yemen researcher, stated that Houthi authorities “should immediately release all those arbitrarily detained and shift their focus to protecting the rights and fulfilling the needs of those living in areas under their control.” Jafarnia added: “They should also free others arbitrarily detained, including those held for commemorating the September 26 revolution, journalists, lawyers, and dozens of United Nations…staff.”

Houthi authorities have also targeted humanitarian workers, including at least 19 UN staff who were arbitrarily detained on Aug. 31. Hans Grundberg, the UN envoy for Yemen, denounced the move, stating:

I strongly condemn the new wave of arbitrary detentions of UN personnel today in Sana’a and Hodeidah, as well as the forced entry into UN premises and seizure of UN property… These arrests violate the fundamental obligation to respect and protect their safety, dignity, and ability to carry out their essential work in Yemen.

The Houthis are a Zaydi Shi’ite movement that took control of Yemen’s capital city Sanaa in September 2014 and later seized control over much of northern and western Yemen. According to HRW, they have been detaining political opponents since the takeover, though the number of arrests has increased in recent months.

From JURIST, Nov. 29. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Note: Houthi authorities have announced that the detained UN personnel are also to face trial for espionage.

The revolution of Sept. 26, 1962 established the Yemen Arab Republic in North Yemen, which was formally disbanded with Yemen’s unification in 1990.

Map via PCL

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