On Thursday, 31 Yemeni fishermen returned to the fishing port in Hodeidah Governorate, western Yemen, days after they were kidnapped and tortured in Eritrean prisons.

A number of fishermen reported that the Eritrean authorities kidnapped them from Yemeni territorial waters while they were fishing on board three boats, and they were taken at gunpoint to Eritrean prisons.

They added: “During their three-day detention period, they were subjected to various types of torture, starvation, and ill-treatment.”

They indicated that after their release, the Eritrean authorities forced them to return with only one boat, as the Eritrean authorities confiscated the rest of the boats and their fishing equipment.

This incident is part of a series of repeated violations carried out by the Eritrean authorities against Yemeni fishermen in the Red Sea, where arbitrary arrests and detention have increased in recent years.

Many survivors indicated that they were subjected to forms of torture and ill-treatment, in addition to being starved and detained in harsh conditions.

The Yemeni authorities face major challenges in protecting their territorial waters and fishermen from repeated violations, in light of the escalation of Houthi gang attacks on commercial shipping ships and oil tankers in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.