The National Human Rights Authority issued a strongly worded condemnation of the heinous crime committed last Thursday by militants affiliated with the Islah Party in Taiz governorate, namely the execution of prisoner Issa Muqbil Ali Aoun Abdu Al-Afari following his capture.
In an official statement, the Authority described the brutal and well-documented execution as a flagrant and egregious violation of the principles of Islamic law, as well as all legal, ethical, and international humanitarian norms. The statement further condemned the act as a blatant affront to the four Geneva Conventions, particularly the Third Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
The Authority revealed that the perpetrators carried out a field execution of the captive following an illegal mock trial — a crime that adds to the growing list of ongoing abuses committed by the Islah militia against prisoners and civilians in areas under its control. The statement underscored that this incident further exposes the inherently criminal, terrorist, and brutal nature of the militia, which operates under the sponsorship of foreign aggression forces.
It added that the timing and nature of this crime clearly aim to derail both international and local efforts to advance prisoner exchange negotiations. The Authority called on the international community to fulfill its legal and moral obligations in response to the escalating violations against detainees in Yemen.
The statement outlined a series of urgent demands, foremost among them: an immediate and transparent international investigation into this atrocity; holding those who ordered, carried out, or turned a blind eye to the crime fully accountable; and pressing the International Committee of the Red Cross to fulfill its humanitarian mandate in monitoring the situation of prisoners and preventing further crimes against them.
It also demanded that individuals and leaders of the Islah Party involved in executions and torture be added to international sanctions lists for war criminals, and urged the states backing the aggression to abide by their humanitarian and legal obligations concerning prisoners, and to exert pressure on their proxies to halt these systematic abuses.
The Authority also called upon all human rights organizations, professional unions, civil society bodies, and media institutions — in Yemen and abroad — to denounce this crime and unite in confronting the ongoing war crimes and violations against detainees.
In conclusion, the National Human Rights Authority reaffirmed its commitment to continue monitoring, documenting, and pursuing all perpetrators of war crimes before both national and international courts — in pursuit of justice, accountability, and the protection of the dignity of the Yemeni people.
