The liquidation of the eighty-year-old Sheikh “Al-Shaba’i” in Sana’a reveals the brutality of Houthi leaders

StatementThe Irada Organization against Torture and Enforced Disappearance strongly condemns the brutal and treacherous crime that claimed the life of the elderly Sheikh Ahmed bin Ahmed Al-Shaba’i, eighty years old, in Bilad Al-Rous District in Sana’a Governorate.

The Irada Organization followed with deep sorrow and grief the death of Sheikh Al-Shaba’i at dawn on Monday, May 4, 2026, after succumbing to his wounds following ten days of suffering in intensive care; making the elderly Ahmed Al-Shaba’i a new victim of the policy of impunity.

Eighty years of age did not spare the elderly Al-Shaba’i, who passed away affected by treacherous stab wounds from a Houthi terrorist inside the House of God.

The act of the Houthi supervisor and leader Abdullah Yahya Al-Kubsi in stabbing an eighty-year-old elderly man inside one of the Houses of God represents new proof of the extent of disregard for civilians’ lives, the violation of the sanctity of places of worship, and the scale of Houthi terrorism looming over civilians, making no distinction between a child, a woman, or an aged elderly man.

This heinous crime is a direct result of the systematic incitement rhetoric and the policy of impunity that grants killers cover to practice the most horrific forms of abuse against social dignitaries and unarmed civilians. This is also a message to the global conscience; the killing of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Shaba’i in Sana’a is terrorism that violates the blood of the elderly and the sanctity of places of worship.

We at the Irada Organization place this incident, with all its bloody details, before the Yemeni, Arab, and international community, and before local and international human rights organizations affiliated with the United Nations. The Irada Organization demands a firm position that goes beyond the circle of silent condemnation to actual pressure to hold the perpetrators accountable and stop the bloodshed in areas under Houthi control.

International silence toward the crimes committed daily by the Houthis — crimes that bring shame to the forehead — including abduction, killing, bombing, destruction, forced displacement, planting millions of landmines, and liquidating women, children, and the elderly inside mosques, gives the killers a green light to continue their crimes.

From here, the Irada Organization renews its demand to pursue Houthi leaders and open a transparent and independent international investigation into all crimes committed by the Houthi militia against civilians, and to prevent the dilution of cases or the protection of criminals under any political or family justifications.

Mercy and eternal remembrance for the victims, and shame upon the criminal Houthi killers.

Issued by the Irada Organization against Torture and Enforced DisappearanceWednesday, May 6, 2026 – Republic of Yemen