Human Rights Watch condemned the arrest of Judge Abdul-Wahab Qatran, who has been in Houthi prisons since the beginning of this January, against the backdrop of his criticism on social media of the policy of the Iran-backed group.

The international human rights organization considered the arrest of Judge Qatran one of the clear examples of a broader pattern of Houthi campaigns of repression against people’s rights to freedom of expression, and its violations against activists and political opponents.

The organization said: “While the Houthis are busy promoting to the world that they are defending the Palestinians in Gaza against Israeli atrocities, they are mercilessly silencing the Yemenis under their rule who dare to criticize them.” She added, "The demand for basic human rights for Palestinians also applies to Yemenis."

The Houthi group arrested Judge Qatran on January 2, 2024 from his home in Sanaa, under the pretext that he was making alcohol and drinking it, but Human Rights Watch suggested that the arrest came due to his publications on the “X” platform that criticized the Houthis’ actions in the Red Sea. .

Since they took control of the levers of power in northern Yemen, the Houthis have launched a wide series of arbitrary arrests and trials targeting dozens of activists opposed to the group, which the United States recently designated an international terrorist organization.

More recently, the Houthis sentenced to death on charges of spying on human rights activist Fatima Al-Arouli (35 years old), who was forcibly disappeared by Houthi forces in Taiz on August 12, 2022.

Al-Arouli was not given adequate legal representation, and the authorities repeatedly rejected her family members’ requests to visit and contact her.