Jamal Al-Maamari: 1114 days of forced abduction

On this day, the day of regaining my freedom. On this date, the 1st of April 2018, I regain my freedom in prisoners exchange deal between Yemen Legitimate Government and Houthis terrorist militia. On this thread, I’ll briefly explain what happened in Houthis militia’s secret detentions, “I’ll explain the whole story into detail in my next book, God willing, which I intend to release when circumstances permit.”Here is the story:The 13th of March 2015, the painful memory of the day of my abduction by Houthis terrorist militia. On this day, the 13th of march 2015,Houthis terrorist militia abducted me from Sana’a. On that day, I was a guest of Sheikh Mabkhout Bin Ali Al Arradah, the brother of Marib Governor, at lunch. I got a call from Emran province that my wife was taken to a hospital in Sana’a. I apologize to him for leaving without having lunch. He insisted on my staying but I asked him to allow me to go before the arrival of Sheikh Sultan Bin Ali Al Arradah, Marib Governor, who wouldn’t allow me to leave.I left the house. On my way, I called the martyr commander Abdur-rab Ash-shadadi apologizing to him for skipping a tribal meeting in the afternoon and informing him that I had to go to Sana’a. He asked me to come to see him at his house. When I said that I was in a hurry, he insisted on coming, and told me that he would meet me in the yard of his house. I went and met him and one of his sons. He asked me not to go to Sana’a for fear of my life. I told him that it is necessary to go, said goodbye to each other and took my way to Sana’a.When I ,and my escorts who were in 2 cars, were in Al Gada’n area, three men from Al Gumaider area, “Houthis checkpoint”, stopped me, asking me to show them my documents. I refused their order and a loud slanging match broke out. After the altercation, they told us in a voice provoking threatening that “we would meet another time” and let us go. I kept on my way, when reaching Nihm district, I decided to change my way. I saw my family. Then, I went to Al Majawihah area in order to visit the sons of my neighbor Ali Bin Ahmed Hadi, “who died a few days ago and I couldn’t attend his funeral ceremony.” And from there, I went to Sana’a on the same day to see my wife who was hospitalized yesterday to Saudi German Hospital. She had a tumour and was receiving treatment in the hospital. The men accompanying her and her were staying in Armani Hotel, located in Al Gamanah roundabout near the hospital to complete her treatment, waiting for my arrival. As I arrived, they went back to Emran.After my arrival that night, I sensed about an hour after coming into my room in the hotel, something moving by the door of the room, as if someone was spying on us. My wife was sleeping when I opened the door to see what it was? When I opened the door, I saw an armed houthis’ young man about 23 years old, with dirty clothing and his mouth, face and clothes stained by snuff (tobacco). He didn’t talk to me but posed as he phoned someone. At that time, I was wearing my jambiya. I used the elevator to go down to the reception. In the elevator, the young man, who was silently carrying a Kalashnikov rifle Houthis slogan stuck on it, was with me. I suspected he wanted to harm me, but at that time I was able to defend myself if he would attack me. But when I went to the receptionist to pay the remaining amount of the room’s rent, he went out of the hotel. I asked the receptionist to give me a personal weapon, but he was silent and became riveted in his seat. I turned to see a group of Houthis men moving wielding their guns towards me “they were in civilian clothes and had ugly images and Houthis slogans. Due to the short distance, two meters separated us and being unarmed, I couldn’t face off them. I held my jambiya with my hand, but they took it by force. With their guns wielding towards me, asked me to come to talk. I replied that could they let me know who they were? But they insisted on taking me with them. I begged them to let me see my wife, who were in the fifth floor and in poor health, moreover she is illiterate, couldn’t read or write, and had no phone or money and no one of our relatives could come at this time to take her out of the hotel and take her back to her house and children, as the time was twelve past five a.m. I begged them again to let me leave her some money at the receptionist or even informing her that I would leave with them in order to not terrifying her, but unfortunately, they rejected my pleas. There was no one of them had manners and all of them were street shiites with no ethics or honor. They took me with them in their Hilux car, a taxi accompanied it, that’s what I could see, even though there were certainly dozens of Houthi gunmen surrounding the hotel, to Raslan police station area. I was surprised when I arrived and found in the courtyard two rows of Houthi militia’s members, about fifty on the right and left, and at the top of the stairs at the door of the police station was a Houthi militia supervisor. I knew from his words that he was from Sana’a, from the Sharaf ad-deen family who live in Al-Juraf. The supervisor laughed and said in an ironic Sana’a tone hello the advocator of the oppressed, hello the advocator of the weaks, hello the man of saying: “tell the truth, even if it is bitter. “these words are writen on my Facebook profile and Houthis were displeased with I posted on my page.” Sheikh Jamal Al-Maamari finally was in the grip of Ansar Allah.I greeted them with raised head but nobody replied. Then, I knew that it was a sacrifice for the sake of God, the homeland, honor and dignity. I remained calm as a cucumber and never submitted to them inside the police station. After that, they put me in the office and closed the door, and waited for the arrival of a Land Cruiser covered by light reflecting, two Houthi vehicles, and a double-decker Hilux. Then, they took me after covering my eyes, preventing me from speaking. When I arrived in Hadda area, I saw Jabal al-Nahdain from the side of my eye coverings. The car turned around towards the home of Lieutenant General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, the former vice President. I had previously had information that it had become a secret detention center to detain politicians in after they had taken over it in the Nakba day, Sept 21, 2014.They took me to the inner hall of the house and asked me to go down stairs. I asked them to remove my blindfold, but they refused. I went down ,but when I was at the first step, one of them kicked me behind my right knee in an attempt to knock me down the stairs. I grabbed the wooden handrail, but he, in a treacherous way, stabbed me from behind with his Jambiya blade in the upper back below the neck that caused a loss of my consciousness.

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After losing consciousness, I did not wake up until just before sunrise, approximately three hours later, from 2:00 AM to 5:30 AM.When I woke up, I found myself next to the morgue refrigerator at Police Hospital in Al-Hasaba area, with Houthis having completely covered my body with a death shroud. I felt the pain of the stab wound. When Houthi members heard my groaning, they said, “He is not dead.” It became clear that they had not brought me to the hospital for treatment but rather to place me in the morgue. I lived through harrowing moments while being taken back to Ali Mohsen’s house in a Toyota Land Cruiser pickup without a door. My wound was bleeding, my clothes were soaked in blood without receiving any medical aid and I was suffering from severe pain in my spine. Two young Houthi militants from Saada, no older than twenty, stood beside me, staring at me coldly. In a moment of despair, the thought of jumping out of the vehicle to end my suffering crossed my mind. However, I refused to give in and said to myself, “By the One who raised the heavens, I will not throw myself out, even if they cut me to pieces with saws. I am on the path of truth defending oppressed and weaks and in the cause of God, and whatever descends from the heavens will be embraced by the earth.” They took me back to the house of General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, where I was received by Houthi torturers and terrorists – harsh in speech and foolish in mind. They possessed a level of stupidity and dullness that I cannot describe. It was clear from their behavior that it was their first time entering a city, and that they were from Saada province. They were the criminal Qasim Jarfan, who is the relative of Houthi intelligence chief the terrorist Abdulrab Jarfan, with a group of fools.They moved me down on a stretcher to the basement, as I was unable to stand or move due to the severe pain. There, they forced me to sit on an iron chair and tied my hands and legs to the behind of the chair. I was subjected to direct electric shocks while enduring patiently. They kept me tied to the iron chair and tortured me for eight consecutive days, denying me access to the bathroom. I survived on a few grams of biscuits (specifically “Qasabat Abu Walad”) every 24 hours, along with a small carton of milk and drank water only twice a day. My body temperature was high due to the severe, untreated wound that was left without any medical care, as well as the lack of water and sleep.The interrogation and torture continued while I was on the chair for eight consecutive days, nonstop day and night. I was shocked that such brutality and terrorism existed in Yemen. Then, two Iranians arrived, whom I recognized from their language, accompanied by a Houthis translator. They fabricated an accusation against me, claiming that I was involved in giving information about an Iranian ship, which was captured in Oct 2009 near Midi area, and involved in capturing six Iranian sailors. Also, claiming that I was involved in the seizure of the Iranian ships “Jihan 1” on Jan 23, 2013 and detained 3 Iranian men, and “Jihan 2” in March 2013 with all its 9 Yemeni crew, who were detained in Aden, and the tenth one, who was Iranian, escaped near Bab-el-Mandeb. I was surprised to hear such questions, as I was not a government official to be asked such questions, but rather an activist on social media. I was being asked questions while I was under severe torture, denying any relations to what they asked me. The intensive investigation went on asking me about my relation with Saudi and British embassies and the Yemeni presidency, they attached a video they found from a camera in the presidential palace, showing me attending a meeting before the fall of Sana’a – a meeting I happened to attend by coincidence, and other videos showed me entered national security and other places. I replied that it was during my seeking to release a detainee. They went on torturing me, then questioned me about my Facebook activity, my opposition to them, and my posts in various groups. They asked about my travels abroad, especially to UAE and Syria, and my writings against Bashar Al-Assad during the Syrian revolution. They also interrogated me about the Saada, Sufyan, Dammaj, Kitaf, Hashid, Amran, Arhab and Al-Jada’an wars, as well as the resistance camps in Marib and my relationship with Al-Aradah, Al-Shaddadi, and Hassan bin Jallal in military manufacturing of the Republican Guards.Additionally, they asked me about my relationship with security and military services, accusing me of attacking Bani Hushaysh area during the 6th war with Maj Gen Mohammed Turaiq, and being involved in supporting operations which targeted Houthi militia vehicles in several provinces and held me responsible for all security incidents in Yemen, including those in Saada, Amran, Hajjah, and Sana’a… etc. They asked me unbelievable and unthinkable questions. During the period of investigation one of them whispered in my ear that I should confess anything even if it was away from the questions they asked you. I told myself, “Am I in a lottery program?, Houthis will get nothing from me. I’m not from those they used to investigate and frame them ” They kept piling up accusations and attempting to intimidate me into confessing to anything. Of course, I had nothing to confess, and they couldn’t find no evidence. The main goal of them was to force me to apologize to Houthis and confess anything to use it as informational material to broadcast it on Al Maseerah channel in a way that may launder their crimes and violations against Yemenis. Although I knew that they were Houthis and most of them were from Saada, Harf Sufyan and Barat, they denied that they were Houthis when I was calling them Houthis. Who was the one behind what came over me? The ones behind my abduction were Houthis criminals and other figures who collaborated with them during the fall of Emran and Sana’a. After my abduction, they continuously sought to prevent my release in an attempt to keep my voice silent, and omit me from the political, humanitarian and public service scene. One of the main reasons behind their hostility towards me was the electricity project I implemented in the districts of Al-Jabal and As-Sood, which I carried out through personal efforts and a modest contribution from the local community. I spent ten millions on that project to light up hundreds of homes. I still have all the evidence, agreements, fingerprints, signatures, participant lists, and purchase invoices for materials such as high- and low-voltage network transformers, wooden poles, and other related equipment. I personally covered up to 80% of the total costs, while the locals contributed the rest. Fortunately, Houthis couldn’t get their hands on these documents, because I took them with me to Marib.My service activities and advocacy for the oppressed had disturbed the political figures, who feared my growing popularity, that might threaten their electoral positions in As-Sood district, and this animosity even extended to some areas in Jabal Ayal Yazeed district. The extensive efforts I put forth were beyond the notable figures could achieve. So when they saw me bringing electricity to people’s homes, they wished me to live in the darkness of the prison. As the saying goes, “Only the fruitful tree is pelted with stones.”While I was subjected to the most severe torture in Houthi militia prisons, these individuals were weaving conspiracies against me and submitting numerous false reports to Houthis, “Later, I came across some of them.” Although they sided with Houthis, Houthis have now disowned them and disgraced their own dignity.Unfortunately, a few of them, no more than a handful, later joined legitimate government ranks. As if what they did wasn’t enough , they continued to deceive the public. They spread false rumors, claiming that Gamal Al Mammari was never imprisoned but had disappeared to lead Houthis militants groups in Al-Houban. Others falsely alleged that I had joined Al-Qaeda, while some claimed I was secretly working with National Security Agency for Ammar Afash. All of these slanders were simply because of the electricity project.These bastards neither upheld the ethics of honorable men nor followed the principles of Islam. They have lost all sense of integrity. I owed them nothing, neither rights nor obligations. They were, from the beginning, working in the dark like bats, conspiring with Houthis, whether those who were members of parliament, local council representatives, or others. However, I have never infringed on any of them in my life, nor have time to waste on them or their enmity. Houthis haphazardly accused me, read thousands of messages and looked for the smallest details; meanwhile, they knew that I am a simple person presenting in Marib away from what happened in Sana’a, Emran, Hajjah, Sa’dah and Dhamar, and I have not a massive corporation or a government official capable of funding fighters.When they couldn’t get answers from me regarding what they wanted, as I had no knowledge of what I was being interrogated for, I told them, “You won’t get a single word from me because I know nothing about all these matters. But since you’re monitoring me, you know that the only weapon I have is my pen and social platforms posts.” you also know my relationship with the resistance there. As for my stance against Houthi invasion, the blowing up of homes of social figures and opposition members, and the killing of women and children in your way from Sa’dah to Sana’a, it is the attitude of all free honorable man rejecting oppression, tyranny and bossism.” Back to torture, the interrogators brought a gas stove (a small burner similar to a camping stove) into the room. They placed the heel of my left foot on the fire while they were masked, and I was handcuffed and shackled to a metal chair. Then, they removed the blindfold from my eye. Houthis aimed at breaking my will and destroying my spirit by making me watch my flesh and blood burn in the fire. They asked, “What do you think now?” I replied, “Since you’re roasting my foot, enjoy your meal. You must be hungry to eat it.” They then struck the wound on my upper back with a frozen metal object, which was more painful than the burning. After that, they inserted an electric wire into my mouth and switched on the current until I fell to the ground with the chair.They said, “You have no choice but to confess to what we want and say it on Al-Masirah channel.” But I refused.Then, I was subjected to psychological torture that I can never forget. They made me hear the screams of a woman from the adjacent room, and told me that “This is your sick wife, crying out for help, between life and death.” At other times, I would hear the cries of tortured detainees from nearby rooms, and they would say, “This is your brother who was in Marib.” They wanted to break my spirit. And had Allah not given me strength, I would nearly go mad and hallucination. The four filthy interrogators took turns: one was violent, the second was gentle, and the other two were somewhere between violence and kindness. I realized then that all they wanted from me was to appear on Houthi channel, Al-Masirah, and say what they dictated to me. So, I decided to play along and told them, “I will confess to everything you want and say whatever you want on Al-Masirah channel. I will even sign whatever you want, on the condition that you let me sleep to night and buy me new clothes from my own money that you have confiscated, as my clothes were soaked with blood and urine from the torture and I needed clean clothes to pray.” They happily agreed, as they wanted to achieve any success. They brought me new clothes and took me to the bathroom, allowing me to take a hot shower. Then, they went to Najoom Al-Sham restaurant in Hadda and brought me meat and rice. I told them, “That’s enough, just let me sleep.” That night, I slept for five hours, a sleep I had never experienced before in my life. Afternoon, they came to me while chewing qat and feeling joyful. They offered me some qat, but I refused. Then they noticed I hadn’t eaten the meat and rice.They asked, “Why didn’t you eat it?”I replied, “I didn’t want it,” knowing that if I ate, I would need to use the bathroom, and they would not allow me to do so. And this is more severe torture than hunger. I requested a pen and paper. They asked, “Why?” I told them that “I needed it.” They brought me ones and I wrote a message to Major General Hamoud Al-Soufi, Political Security Chief, requesting him to release me on commercial bail. When they read my message, they became furious. One of them shouted at the top of his voice, “We’ve been deceived!” They then demanded that I fulfill what I had promised them. I told them that, “I only wanted to enter the bathroom to clean myself and wear my shroud. Here I am, ready. Do whatever you want, you oppressors. By Allah, even if you crush me between two pliers, you won’t get a single word from me or praise Abdulmalik Al Houthi on Al-Masirah channel, you rejectionists “Rafidah!” The word rejectionists “Rafidah” (a derogatory term for Houthis) enraged them. So they tied me to the chair again and violently beat my legs until they bled. Then they brought an electric drill used for cement walls, with a drill bit approximately 4 mm in size, and drilled into my left forearm until they pierced the bone. When they saw that I neither moved nor screamed, they lost their minds. They then tied my hands and legs to the chair behind me and bound me with scarves (cloth), tying me from my left armpit and my left thigh, bending my back to the left side as they did in the beginning. The blood flow to my limbs stopped, and I felt my vertebrae cracking. I screamed at them, “Ahad! Ahad!” (meaning “One God, One God”), and I kept repeating this phrase. The more I said it, the more they intensified the torture. They shouted, “Are we the disbelievers of Quraysh?” I replied, “No, you are filthier!” I then fell into several comas due to the torture. I don’t know how many.The most severe part of the torture was bending my back against the iron chair until I felt my spine dislocate.The torture was extreme, and I cannot find enough time to explain everything, as that would require volumes.(I refrain from mentioning the names of the interrogator till issuing the whole story supported by the images and documents.)The First Relief: On the night of March 26th, my soul was hovering between heaven and earth due to the brutal torture I endured. However, I had a deep feeling that Allah would grant me relief and deliverance because of my pure intentions, sincere heart, and the good I had done for others. I was certain that Allah would not abandon me. That night, which was in the second week of torture, I fell into three consecutive comas. But relief finally came with airstrike (Operation Decisive Storm). Houthi rats “militants” fled, explosions followed one after another, and the prison guards escaped, along with the other detainees in the neighboring cells, I didn’t know who they were and how many. Their cries of pain from torture last night made my suffering even worst. Almost, all of them fled except me I was paralyzed and shackled to the iron chair.I initially thought that my escorts attacked the prison to free me from the clutches of the criminals or attack by the relatives of other detainees. But when I heard the planes’ sound, I realized it was an airstrike, since I was in the basement. I was shackled to the chair, no sound except the sound of planes and explosions. While Houthis members were getting frightened, I was happy to escape torture. One of the interrogators came to me after eight hours, I asked him “What’s going on?” He said, “This is America and Israel bombing us from the air.” I mocked him. He left for a few minutes and then returned, asking me to sign eleven documents. I refused unless I read them first. He insisted and unlocked my right hand. I grabbed the papers and tore them with my teeth, as my left hand was still shackled and had become paralyzed from the torture.At that moment, he did nothing to me. Instead, he said words that I would never forget: “Jamal, in reality, you will never see me again. You are indeed innocent, but we are forced to keep you detained. I will request to transfer you to the central prison until they agree to release you.” This interrogator was less brutal compared to Houthi ones, and I didn’t know if he was Houthis or not. Shortly after, two cars arrived to transfer me. The interrogator requested them to take me to the central prison, but they refused. A heated argument broke out between the interrogator and Houthis, who were from Saada and Harf Sufyan in Amran. Then the interrogator left. Houthis took me away, driving at insane speed. When we passed by the central prison, I realized that they were taking me to the infamous secret prison in Jabal Sirf.