While Yemenis live in tragic conditions due to the war, siege and the tragedy that this catastrophe has created in all aspects of life, detainees and prisoners face dire conditions.
While the country is in a state of destruction and siege, these detainees and prisoners face the pain of living in their cells within this larger incarceration, especially since the various parties in this conflict do not abide by any ethics, laws or customs that govern their behavior towards their opponent’s detainees.
In light of this tragic situation, INSAF has learned that the detainee Badia’ Allah Sanayi (aged 78), who is a prisoner of the Houthi authorities in Sana’a, is in dire health and is in need of urgent health care, as his critical condition and age require direct intervention in order to save his life. Sanayi (who belongs to the Baha’i sect) was arrested by the Houthis in April 2017, after his son was arrested half a month prior to that. However, the Houthis released the son in December 2017 as a result of international pressure, due to the fact that he was an employee of the Red Cross, but refused to release his ailing father.
Badia’ Allah Sanayi is well known for his 40 plus years of serving the country in the field of urban planning. He was a consultant to the Minister of Works, and is considered to be one of the first civil engineers to help in the planning of urban areas, and has helped plan the area of Al-Sabeen in Sana’a. As a result, he was granted a Yemeni citizenship.
We at INSAF, call upon the de facto authorities in Sana’a to release Sanayi as soon as possible due to his critical health situation, which calls for urgent intervention to save his life. We also call for the need to stop the systematic targeting imposed on him and his fellow Baha’is. This call is also directed at all human right activists as well as local and international organizations to apply press on the Houthi authorities in order to release the detainee and save his life.
