Case History: Abdulrasheed al-Faqih
On 18 June 2018, human rights defenders Radya Al-Mutawakel and Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih were detained for a day by Saudi and United Arab Emirates-led coalition forces at Sayoun Airport.
On 14 June at approximately 06:30am, human rights defender Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih was detained and his mobile devices and passport confiscated at Bab al-Falaj checkpoint in Ma’rib Governorate northeast of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a. He was released later the same day.
On 4 March 2016, Houthi militia held and interrogated human rights defender Mr Abdulrasheed al-Faqih in Sana'a International Airport. The incident occurred upon the human rights defender's return from Jordan, where he had been participating in an international conference held in solidarity with Yemeni journalists. He was subsequently released after having his passport confiscated.
Abdulrasheed al-Faqih is a human rights defender and executive director of the Mwatana Organisation for Human Rights, an independent Sana'a based organisation monitoring and documenting human rights violations in Yemen.
On 18 June 2018, human rights defenders Radya Al-Mutawakel and Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih were detained for a day by Saudi and United Arab Emirates-led coalition forces at Sayoun Airport in the Hadhramout region of Yemen. They were travelling abroad to participate in several human rights activities, including an event at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Oslo.
On 14 June at approximately 06:30am, human rights defender Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih was detained and his mobile devices and passport confiscated at Bab al-Falaj checkpoint in Ma’rib Governorate northeast of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a. He was released later the same day.
Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih is the executive director of the Mwatana Organisation for Human Rights, an independent Sana’a based organisation monitoring and documenting human rights violations in Yemen.
Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih was detained on his way to the city of Seiyun in Hadhramaut Governorate to travel out of Yemen for medical treatment and a business trip, which included an EU event.
According to Mwatana staff, the human rights defender was transferred to the security administration office in Ma’rib, which is under the control of the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is being supported by Saudi Arabia. He was held there until his release several hours later.
Abdulrasheed Al-Faqih previously faced harassment as a result of his human rights work. He was repeatedly detained and interrogated for brief periods in 2015 and 2016 by Houthi authorities. The Mwatana Organisation for Human Rights has also been regularly targeted by warring parties in Yemen as it has been reporting human rights abuses in the country. In 2016 a campaign was launched against the organisation on social media.
On 4 March 2016, human rights defender Mr Abdulrasheed al-Faqih was held and interrogated by Houthi militia in Sana'a International Airport. The incident occurred upon the human rights defender's return from Jordan, where he had been participating in an international conference held in solidarity with Yemeni journalists. He was subsequently released after having his passport confiscated.
The human rights defender was interrogated for twenty minutes by members of the Houthi militia, and his belongings were inspected. He was questioned as to the purpose of his trip to Jordan, his relationship with international NGOs, his activities in Yemen, and a previous trip that he had made to Turkey. He was returning from Amman, Jordan, where he participated in an international conference of journalists organised by the Yemen Journalists' Syndicate, the International Federation of Journalists, and the Arab Federation of Journalists, to discuss the challenges faced by journalists in Yemen, and to develop strategies to protect and strengthen them and their work.
Abdulrasheed al-Faqih has previously faced harassment as a result of his human rights work. On 19 September 2015, he was arrested and detained for ten hours along human rights defender and head of Mwatana Organisation Radhya Almutawakel and other colleagues, after being beaten by Houthi women following a peaceful demonstration calling for the release of political detainees and justice for victims of enforced disappearance.
On 9 August 2015, the human rights defender was arrested by Houthi authorities and detained in Al-Judairee police station, where he was interrogated for five hours and beaten by five militia members before being released. His presence at the police station was subsequently denied by militia members.
The Mwatana Organisation for Human Rights has regularly been targeted by the Houthi group as a result of its human rights work, including through a campaign launched against it on social media, amid the ongoing crackdown on human rights NGOs in Yemen.
