Yemen: The right to life of 73 soldiers held by armed group safeguarded
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An Alkarama and HOOD delegation visited the area for the second time on Saturday and Sunday 28-29 April, and attended a handover ceremony held by the "Ansar al-Shariah" group in the city of Jaar, which the group controls and calls the "Islamic Emirate of Waqar". The ceremony was attended by the families of the captured soldiers, and by tribal delegations and religious figures who had a played a mediating role.
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Alkarama's Country Representative in Yemen has had contacts for around two months with many actors of civil society, judicial and governmental bodies, inviting them to take part in the negotiations with "Ansar al-Shariah", and to take actions to save these captured soldiers. The agreement of the group to release soldiers followed intense negotiations, in order to convince them to abandon their decision to execute the soldiers unless the Yemeni authorities respond to their demands to release their members who are held in Yemeni prisons, most of whom did not undergo any trials. The Yemeni security services arrested them over the last few years as part of the so called "war on terror".
Last April, the "Ansar al-Shariah" group informed Alkarama and HOOD that they intend to execute a number of the captured soldiers. This caused increased anxiety among the soldiers' families and the human rights organisations, given that the Yemeni authorities made no efforts to ensure their release despite two months of captivity, during which their lives were in constant danger either from US or Yemeni air attack, or execution by the group.
Previously, on 22 March 2012, a joint-Alkarama and HOOD team visited Jaar, where it was able to meet the 73 captured soldiers. The team noted their detention and health conditions, which showed that they were well treated, and were allowed to communicate with their families. The group however demanded that some of their members held prisoner of the Yemeni Security Services be released in return for the soldiers.