Yemen: Abbad Ahmed Sameer suspected of terrorism but no trial to prove it

27 Apr 2012
Today, Alkarama submitted the case of a young Yemeni citizen, Mr Abbad Ahmed Sameer, to the United Nations Special Procedures. Abbad Ahmed Sameer was arbitrarily arrested on 11 November 2010 and is currently detained at Sana'a Political Security Prison. He has been held without having been officially charged nor presented to a judge, which makes his detention unlawful under international and domestic law.

In the night of 11 November 2010, a group of agents from the Aden branch of Political Security broke into Mr Sameer's house and arrested him. Mr Sameer was then brought to Baltwaha Political Security Prison in Aden. He was later transferred, at the beginning of March 2011, to Ta'izz Political Security Prison where he remained until 15 April 2011. Since then, he has been held in Sana'a Political Security Prison.

At the beginning of his detention, Mr Sameer was victim of acts of torture, carried out by Political Security agents with the aim of obtaining confessions. The agents told Mr Sameer that he was suspected of being member of Al Qaeda. However, he has never been charged nor presented to a judge, more than two years and four months after his arrest.

The torture, terrible detention conditions, solitary confinement and unavailability of medical treatment have heavily affected Mr Sameer's physical and mental health.

Today, 27 April 2012, Alkarama submitted Mr Sameer's case to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, asking the Working Group to qualify Mr Sameer's detention as unlawful. Alkarama calls on the Yemeni authorities to ensure that Mr Sameer is protected from arbitrary arrest and detention, a violation both in international and domestic law. In accordance with their international obligations, Yemeni authorities should also redress the violation by releasing Mr Sameer or trying him in accordance with the fair trail standards, and compensate him for his unlawful treatment.

In Yemen, arbitrary detention and torture are systematic features of the fight against terrorism that often targets citizens whose implication in terrorist activities is unproven, as in Mr Sameer's case. To learn more about this, please refer to Alkarama's 2012 Alternative Report submitted to the Human Right Committe (available here).
Yemen