After briefly detaining her following the ambush, the coalition troops let her go. But this was only the start of her troubles. Another male passenger travelled with them. On 7 October , Huthi security forces stopped their vehicle at a checkpoint in the capital and whisked them away for interrogation. Their arrest marked the beginning of a horrific ordeal including enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment, and death sentences following a grossly unfair trial.
Because of their connection with the armed conflict in Yemen, these violations by the Huthis may amount to war crimes. Rawya Rageh Since the Huthi armed group and its allies took control of large parts of Yemen in late , thousands of people have been arbitrarily detained, forcibly disappeared, and tortured on the basis of their perceived political allegiance or religious beliefs, rights groups say. Amnesty International and other local and international human rights groups have documented such cases and urged the Huthis to respect their obligations under international law.
But far from heeding these calls, the Huthis have been widening their crackdown against opponents and critics, including journalists and human rights defenders. Moreover, the Huthis have also been increasingly using the judiciary to settle political scores, with several grossly unfair trials resulting in death sentences.
These trials and the process leading up to them demonstrate a complete disregard for Yemeni and international law. She was unable to get any news about her two children from a previous marriage β now four and seven years old β who currently live with family members in the south.
Asmaa al-Omeissy was beaten up in front of her year-old father Matir al-Omeissy, including being punched and hit with a cane by a policewoman, the father told me. She was also forced to watch two other detainees in the case being tortured, hung from the ceiling by their wrists as they were kicked and punched all over their bodies. It was a psychological war. None of the defendants had legal representation during the trial. While the three men were released on bail months before the verdict, including two on medical grounds, it is not clear why Asmaa al-Omeissy was the only defendant in the case who remained in custody.
