Houthi official accused of prison torture at Yemen’s Central Security prison

A Houthi official in charge of prisoners’ affairs in Yemen has been accused of ramping up the torture of prisoners in the country’s central prison in Sanaa, according to a video being shared by activists.

The video making the rounds on social media shows a man with torture marks on his back, with activists saying the Houthis are increasing the use of torture tools a fortnight before the one-year anniversary of the killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani.

“On the night of killing Solaimani [sic], the Houthis unleashed their officers to torture detainees. One of those officers was Murad Abu Hussein, who serves as the deputy head of Houthis prisoners swap committee. He tortured detainees being held at the Central Security prison,” tweeted Baraa Shiban, an expert on Yemen.

Al Arabiya English could not independently verify the authenticity of the video originally posted on Twitter on Sunday.

Murad Abu Hussein is currently the Deputy head of the National Committee for Prisoners Affairs in Yemen under the Houthis.

The Central Security prison in Yemen’s Sanaa has been wrought with accusations of torture and human rights abuses over the past several years. The prison currently holds many political prisoners, including Tawfiq al-Mansouri, one of four journalists detained by the Houthis since 2015.

Last month, the Yemeni Abducted Mothers Association group called for international intervention al-Mansouri’s case, accusing the Houthis of neglecting to provide the journalist with medical attention.