Human Rights Report: Arrest 6,417 individuals, including 217 children and displacement of thousands of civilians in Yemen
during 2025Irada Organization against Torture and Enforced Disappearance issued its 7th annual report entitled “Painful Reality and Years of Deprivation – Yemen 2025”.
The105-page report reveals an extensive and grave escalation of gross human rights violations in Yemen in 2025, including arbitrary detention, torture to death, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killing, forced displacement, destruction of homes and property and child recruitment, reflecting an alarming deterioration of the human rights and humanitarian situation in the country.
The report documented 6,417 cases of arbitrary detention in the year. with the Houthis militia accounting for the highest proportion. The pace of violations escalated notably during September, where 4,785 cases of abduction and arbitrary detention were carried out in the northern regions. Among these were 217 children detained outside the framework of the Juvenile Law, some of whom were held in facilities designated for adults.
In 2nd place followed the Southern Transitional Council (STC) militia and its affiliated formations, which carried out 1,125 cases of arbitrary detention in the southern governorates, most notably in Hadramaut, Aden and Lahj. Meanwhile, the Legitimate Government and the National Resistance accounted for 8% of the total number of detention cases.”
Regarding the issue of torture, the report documented the killing of 24 detainees inside prisons, 12 detainees inside Houthis militia prisons, and 7 detainees inside UAE-backed STC militia and its affiliated formations prisons in Aden, Lahj, Abyan, Shabwa, and Hadramaut, such as the detention centers of Bir Ahmed, Al-Rayyan Airport, and Balhaf facility. The Houthis’ secret detention centers are the prisons of Jabal Sirf (east of Sana’a) and the southern building of the National Security prison in Shamlan, in addition to detention centers spanning from Sa’dah to As-Salih City in Taiz. The remaining cases resulted from deliberate medical negligence.
In terms of enforced disappearance, the report documented 341 cases perpetrated by Houthis (82% of total cases), compared to 44 cases carried out by STC militia (10.59%). The remaining 7% were distributed between the Legitimate Government and National Resistance in the West Coast.
As for extrajudicial killings, the report monitored Houthis leading incidents of killings at roadblocks and checkpoints, particularly in the governorates of Al-Jawf and Al-Bayda, as well as raids on homes and villages, accounting for approximately 83% of total cases, followed by STC militia at 17%. Additionally, 32 deaths, 19 cases of field executions, and 218 injuries were documented during the STC militia’s incursion into the eastern governorates, including Mukalla, Seiyun, and Wadi Hadramaut.
In the file of forced displacement, the report documented the displacement of 1,815 citizens by Houthis in their controlled areas, compared to 1,346 citizens displaced by UAE-backed STC militia, particularly in Hadramaut. Furthermore, Houthis led operations involving the total or partial destruction of houses , followed by STC militia.
Regarding child recruitment, the report of Irada Organization against Torture and Enforced Disappearance revealed that Houthis thrust 370,200 children into sectarian courses held in 1,560 facilities and camps, in addition to recruiting approximately 38,000 children for actual military service. The report described these figures as “catastrophic” due to the erasure of national identity and the systematic brainwashing of children, transforming them into fuel for the conflict.
The report also addressed violations against humanitarian action, including the abduction of UN personnel and World Food Programme (WFP) staff, and the looting of international aid through organized fraudulent methods, with estimated losses in the millions of dollars. This led to the deprivation of approximately 48% of the population in Houthi-controlled areas of essential aid, exacerbating rates of poverty and malnutrition, and deteriorating health and water services.
Furthermore, the report reviewed the activities of Irada Organization in 2025, including the issuance of 63 human rights statements, participation in 24 major international meetings and 28 side events at international forums, and the provision of cash and in-kind assistance exceeding eighty million Yemeni Rials.
The organization concluded its report by submitting a package of urgent recommendations to the government side, parties to the conflict, and the international community, emphasizing the necessity of the immediate release of all arbitrary detainees, the cessation of child detention, the closure of secret prisons and detention centers, and the guarantee of accountability and non-impunity. It called upon the international community to impose individual sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes against those involved, and to open independent and transparent investigations into violations to prosecute perpetrators locally and internationally for gross violations they committed.
To read the full report, please visit the link below:
https://drive.google.com/…/1EIJPyOmqacbgF87xfJy…/view…
Issued by Irada Organization Against Torture and Enforced Disappearance
Wed, Jan 28, 2026 The Republic of Yemen
