Aden, Yemen – The Rights and Freedoms Committee of the Southern Transitional Council’s National Assembly has been following with grave concern and condemnation the series of serious and grave violations perpetrated by Yemeni emergency forces in Wadi Hadramawt up to Sunday. These violations have been documented on the ground by the committee’s teams deployed throughout Hadramawt. The committee considers these actions a blatant violation of public rights and freedoms, and a flagrant breach of national laws and international human rights conventions. The committee explained that these violations included the use of excessive force and armored vehicles against peaceful demonstrators and southern journalists. The violations also included raiding homes and terrorizing civilians outside any legal framework, in addition to carrying out widespread arbitrary arrests. These arrests have affected at least 41 peaceful demonstrators as of the time of this statement.
The report also noted the transformation of Seiyun International Airport from a civilian facility into a military barracks and detention center, a blatant violation of international humanitarian law. Furthermore, the report documented attacks on Southern Transitional Council (STC) offices in Wadi Hadramawt, the looting of their contents, and their forcible conversion into military sites. The Rights and Freedoms Committee affirmed that the events in Wadi Hadramawt constitute a systematic pattern of political repression and silencing, undermining the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The Committee emphasized that these practices cannot be justified under any security or political pretext.
Accordingly, the Committee condemned these grave violations in the strongest terms and held the perpetrators and those supporting them fully legally responsible for the safety and lives of all detainees. It also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all those detained or abducted for exercising their legitimate rights. Furthermore, it held the local authorities and those controlling the territory fully responsible for the continuation of these violations and their serious repercussions on social peace. The Committee called upon international and regional human rights organizations, particularly the United Nations and its High Commissioner for Human Rights, to intervene urgently and dispatch independent fact-finding missions. The Committee emphasized that international silence regarding these crimes encourages further violations and constitutes indirect complicity in the abuses. In closing, the Committee for Rights and Freedoms stressed that Hadramawt is not a lawless territory. It also affirmed that human dignity and rights will remain at the forefront of the struggle of the people of South Yemen and will not be extinguished by the passage of time or by force.
