SANA'A: Allegations of torture have been on the increase recently in Yemen with more media and newspapers spreading news of alleged mistreatment and kidnapping of protesters as the conflict opposing the revolutionaries and the government forces intensifies nationwide. HOOD, the most prominent human rights organization in Yemen, has been sounding the alarm for several months now, decrying the horrific repressive methods used by Ali Abdallah Saleh's regime and the countless violations of human rights. If such abuses have been randomly committed in the past, human rights groups are now warning that the government is systematically targeting protesters and citizens for it is desperately trying to quell the exponentially growing popular uprising over its rule over Yemen. Many activists, among them 2011 Peace Nobel Prize winner Tawakkul Karman, are calling on the international community to intervene and stop the bloodshed. Kidnapping and Torture On October 18, as a march was being staged throughout the capital, Sana'a, a group of protesters were forced into a corner by the Central Security Forces, obliged to retreat towards al-Qaa gardens in a northern district of the capital not too far from “Change Square”. After several hours of fierce fighting and desperate calls for help as protesters were being beaten up and shot at by thugs allegedly loyal to the regime, several buses belonging to the Republican Guard and Central Security were seen ferrying protesters back to undisclosed locations. Right groups immediately criticized the move, arguing that the regime had in essence kidnapped peaceful citizens while they were exercising their freedom of speech; demanding the men and women immediate release. Groups reported that on that day alone 500 protesters were kidnapped and thrown in jail. HOOD revealed in a statement to the press that as many as 1,000 unlawfully held detainees were filling the regime's prisons and that hundreds were being subjected to the worst torture imaginable. Barman, the Executive director of the organization told the Yemen Post that only days ago a young man had been found wandering the streets of the capital so severely beaten up and mistreated that he had become mentally impaired. “Nawaf al Alahasy is now in the Science and Technology hospital receiving treatment for his injuries. He has no idea where he is or what happened to him,” said Barman. The HOOD Executive director also said that a young man has been shot at point blank in the head while still being in a Central Security vehicle for he called President Saleh a “killer”. Witnesses accounts also accused the government of brutally torturing children as young as 12 in one of its detention centers which protesters are now calling the “the pits of hell”. Mass Killing Although widely ignored by foreign media, several mass graves were discovered in Yemen, one having been found in one of Sana'a populous district of Beit Bouss. The discovery came amidst an incident involving the disappearance of some 100 injured protesters from a hospital whose families were desperately trying to locate. Residents were disturbed by the findings of human body parts disposed of in plastic rubbish bags. After further investigation they discovered as many as 50 dead bodies as the Medical Examiner's report confirmed. Protesters in “Change Square” also claimed that the Central Security Forces which are led by Yehia Saleh, one of the President's nephew had given orders to execute prisoners to instill fear and prompt others inmates to cooperate with the state's inquiries. Although those allegations could not be independently verified the recurrence of such accounts is overwhelming. A family claimed that the government had offered them $10,000 to declare that the opposition had killed their son; stopping at nothing to hide their crimes. Another man said under cover of anonymity that his son whom had been shot dead by a Republican Guard had been stolen and passed on for a dead soldier at one of the regime organized mass burials in 60 Street. Amnesty International, who on several occasions also spoke out against the repressive methods of the government, stated that clearly Yemen has descended into the “abyss,” adding that heinous crimes were being committed with “impunity.” BM
