The drama of the coronavirus in the prisons of the houthis of Yemen

The coronavirus pandemic is causing devastation all over the world, but for those in prison an uncontrolled outbreak on the premises can be a major concern. Up to 18,000 people are in prisons in Yemen controlled by Huthi militias. Some 8,000 are in centres in Sanaa and their lives are threatened by the expansion of COVID-19 on the facilities. Sources consulted by the Al-Arabiya channel have reported that the militias have introduced people suffering from coronavirus into prisons in the capital with the aim of destroying the opposition and political prisoners who are serving their sentences.

Sources also reported that the pandemic has broken out in three of Sanaa's main detention centres, which occurred a month after the Houthis brought two of the injured to the central reservation of the Habra prison.

The Association of Yemeni Mothers of Kidnapped Persons, an organization formed by the relatives of prisoners serving sentences in Huthian militia prisons, has reported that they have been prevented from bringing food and medicine to the prisons in the country's capital, according to the digital version of the Al-Arabiya chain. The families of the prisoners in the Huthian prisons have launched new calls and demands to the UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, and the international community asking for the immediate release of the detainees due to the new outbreak of coronavirus. 

A joint statement by the Yemeni Organization of Prisoners and Abductees, the Association of Mothers of Abductees and the Committee of Families of Abductees, collected by Al-Arabiya, states: "We follow with great concern and regret the extreme outbreak of the pandemic in the Huthian prisons, which is filled with dozens of prisoners in poor health conditions".

The statement also denounced the fact that Huthi prisons lacked the minimum conditions for people to live together, that preventive measures against the virus were not being followed and that ill-treatment and torture had aggravated the outbreak of coronavirus in the centres. The relatives blame the Houthis for the poor conditions the prisoners are suffering in the facilities and have called for the release of the prisoners and have asked that the UN give priority to this issue in the forthcoming peace negotiations. 

The UN special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, called on the Yemeni parties on 21 March to speed up the release of all prisoners and detainees for fear of contracting the virus, stressing the need to take steps to speed up the implementation of the prisoner exchange agreement.

The Houthis have not reported the spread of the virus in the prisons they control, although the Ministry of Health has issued a statement acknowledging the spread of the virus but not specifying the total number of people infected or the number of deaths. In addition, Yemeni medical sources revealed to Al-Arabiya on Sunday that the Houthis had set up secret quarantine centres in Sanaa and Dhamar for Houthi fighters infected with COVID-19.

Sources have said that dozens of militia fighters, including field commanders, have been infected with coronavirus on several fronts and have been moved to secret centres, set up especially for them. This information has not been made public to avoid affecting the morale of the combatants and preventing them from fleeing from the front.