Chairman of the Yemeni Center — On the Anniversary of My Abduction by the Houthi Terrorist Militia Twelve Years of Steadfastness… The Anniversary of the Abduction

Chairman of the Yemeni Center — On the Anniversary of My Abduction by the Houthi Terrorist Militia

Twelve Years of Steadfastness… The Anniversary of the Abduction

Twelve years have passed whose pages I have turned, and now I begin the thirteenth while seated in a wheelchair. Do those who live in delusion think that I will abandon my quest for justice? Never—never!

On a day like this, a Friday twelve years ago, on March 13, 2015, the treacherous hand of the Houthi terrorist militia reached out to abduct me in Sana’a, with disgraceful collusion from those whose sense of dignity had been stripped away and whose hearts had been filled with hatred—driven by resentment toward my role in serving society and defending the rights of the weak.

On that night, my health was taken from me, and I tasted the tragedies of sectarian hatred and the bitterness of its hypocritical collaborators. Twelve years of my life have passed with this wheelchair as my companion, yet I remain steadfast and resolute in the path of God, and in the path of my country, dignity, and struggle.

That night was the harshest in the record of my life. I endured forms of torture and oppression beyond what the mind can bear or imagine. The basement of the house of General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar was no less brutal than Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The detention center of Jabal Sarf was no less dreadful than Saydnaya prison in Syria. Likewise, the Political Security prison resembled the prisons of the Basij in Iran.

It is one creed and one replicated sectarian approach—barbaric behavior in which tyrants resemble one another, including those who chose to become tools for Tehran on Yemeni soil. Dozens collapsed before my eyes, dying under torture or due to deliberate medical neglect. Social figures, professors, and academics had their skin torn. The call to prayer was prohibited in the Sarf detention center. The Houthis tore up the books of Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, and copies of Riyadh al-Salihin were thrown into the trash. Hundreds went hungry until they reached the brink of starvation, and people collapsed because they could no longer stand due to torture and hunger.

I was perhaps among the prisoners who suffered the most from the torture devices of the Houthis in Ali Mohsen’s residence and in the Jabal Sarf detention facility east of Sana’a.

I still remember the nights of Ramadan as they passed over us in dark prison cells. This is not the place to recount the years of deprivation and torture; I have documented them in a full volume that I am preparing for publication so that it may stand as a historical testimony to the reality of the Houthis and their collaborators.

I entered detention on my own feet, abducted while strong like a lion, and I left it on a stretcher, paralyzed. Yet the oppressors will never escape justice in this world or the next. They tortured me, looted my money, seized my belongings, even my personal documents and professional archive, and took from me my health—which is more valuable than the whole world.

On this blessed day, I look toward the dawn of liberation from this militia and its followers, especially as the turbans of terror in Tehran have begun to fall.

Despite everything, the will remains firm and unyielding. Even though I am far from my homeland, I carry the files of thousands into the corridors of the United Nations, traveling the world to expose the crimes of this militia. While others return to the embrace of their children during holidays, the festivals and the month of Ramadan pass for me while I remain in the trench of continuous confrontation with this extremist enemy.

At this blessed hour, I call upon the Lord of the heavens and the earth:

• O Allah, my hope, grant me justice over the oppressors and their followers, and allow me to see fair retribution against everyone who tortured me, plotted against me, or supported the Houthis against me.
• O Allah, You know the condition of the detainees and the abandonment they suffer from governmental bodies, parties, and organizations. Be their support, O Ever-Living, O Sustainer. Be my supporter and helper, and surround me with Your mercy and kindness.
• O Allah, twelve years of my life have passed in oppression and hardship. I ask You to compensate me with Paradise and make these years an expiation for all my sins. With a wounded heart, I ask You to grant me justice against the oppressors, O Breaker of tyrants.
• O Allah, grant health, protection, good provision, and clear victory over the enemies. Help me against those who wronged me, heal my body and soul, and record for me reward in every moment of patience.
• O Ever-Living, O Sustainer, grant us freedom from the Fire and near relief for all abductees and their families. Bless me with health, use me in the cause of truth, and make me a source of peace for Your allies and a force against the oppressors and corrupt.
• O Allah, have mercy on the martyrs, heal the wounded, free the prisoners, and mend the pain of my heart over the loss of my father—may Allah have mercy on him.
• O Allah, relieve Yemen and its people, mend the broken hearts, restore Yemen’s dignity and stability, grant its leaders righteous advisors, and compensate the victims for what they have lost. I trust in Your promise to grant victory to the oppressed—so grant me victory, restore my health, elevate my rank, and grant justice against those who wronged me.

✍️ Jamal Mohsen Al-Maamari
Chairman of the Yemeni Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violations and Torture (Irada wa Amal – “Will and Hope”)
Geneva, Switzerland
61st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council