New York Times: Arrests and espionage charges worry diplomats and aid workers in Yemen

Shaif al-Hamdani’s friends and former colleagues did not know if they would ever see him again. A former employee of the U.S. Embassy in Yemen, Mr. al-Hamdani was arrested in 2021 by Houthi militants who had taken control of the capital, Sanaa.

In the years since, little has been known about his case or the cases of 10 other active or former Yemeni U.S. embassy employees detained with him, except that they were being held because of their ties to the United States.

Then in June, Mr. al-Hamdani resurfaced in a most painful way: In a propaganda video released by the Houthis, he confessed to spying for the United States and Israel.

“It broke my heart to see al-Shayef in a blue prison jumpsuit, forced to confess under duress,” said Adam Ereli, an American diplomat who worked with al-Hamdani at the embassy for more than two decades.

The video was released in early June, just days after the Houthis — the Iran-backed militia that now controls much of northern Yemen — carried out a new round of arrests. They rounded up at least 27 staff members of U.N. agencies or local and international humanitarian organizations. Dozens more Yemenis working for similar groups were rounded up in the weeks that followed.

The wave of arrests in June raised fears of a wider crackdown on those associated with international organizations and foreign missions in Yemen. Tensions between the Houthis and the West have escalated over the past year, with Yemeni militants attacking international ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and firing rockets at Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Nadwa Al-Dawsari, a conflict analyst, said the Houthis’ repression and detention of UN and international staff has been going on for at least five years. But she noted that the latest round of arrests had a more focused goal: to stifle local support for Western powers and institutions.

“Their targeting of UN staff is a deliberate tactic to extort concessions by using them as hostages,” Al-Dosari added. “The Houthis seek to control who works for the UN and international organizations, and are positioning their people to have complete control over international aid.”

Yemen is suffering from one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. More than half the population – some 18.2 million people – need some form of humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations. This makes the work of local and international aid organizations even more important.

The State Department condemned the recent wave of arrests and accused the Houthis of trying to spread misinformation through forced and fake televised confessions about the roles of current and former Yemeni employees at the US embassy.

“We are very saddened to see our colleagues in this situation, all of whom, without exception, have done nothing to betray Yemen,” Tim Lenderking, the U.S. special envoy to Yemen, said in an interview. “These forced confessions are completely fabricated. It’s theater.”

The United States closed its embassy in Sanaa in 2015 after the Houthis forcibly took over the capital, and the ambassador now operates out of the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

It is not clear whether any charges have been brought against the recent detainees. But the Houthis have accused Mr. al-Hamdani and the others arrested in 2021 of plotting against the country and of being part of an “American-Israeli spy ring.”

At least one person arrested in June, Mohammed Nag Khammash, 55, died in Houthi custody last week, according to his family.

Speaking publicly after the video confessions were released, Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi said members of the alleged spy network arrested in 2021 had “subversive” motives behind their humanitarian work.

In the Houthi video, Mr. Al-Hamdani claims that he was working on orders from Mr. Ereli, the American diplomat.

“This video is false and appalling,” Ereli wrote on social media in June. “Yes, Shaif al-Hamdani worked with me at the US embassy in Sanaa. No, neither of us were spies.” “We implemented educational and cultural programs, with the approval of the Yemeni government, to develop free and independent institutions.”

After the Houthis overran Sanaa in 2014, the internationally recognized government there was forced to flee to the southern city of Aden. A Saudi-led coalition then launched a years-long military intervention to oust them, but failed. That left the Houthis in power in northern Yemen, ruling most of the country.

The group now controls a poor model state stretching across northern Yemen with an iron fist. Previous arrests have highlighted a pattern of arbitrary detentions, according to reports by groups such as Human Rights Watch.

The Houthis have released highly produced videos, complete with music and graphics, that show men other than Mr. Hamdani, 63, also confessing to spying. The New York Times tried to contact several relatives of the men accused of spying, but all declined to speak publicly for fear of Houthi retaliation.

A Yemeni aid worker still in the country, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said the repression in Yemen had reached “terrifying” levels. That, combined with the lack of news coverage and international attention, made the consequences of confronting the Houthis all the more dangerous, the activist said.

At least six Yemenis who worked closely with or knew Mr. al-Hamdani described him as a loyal citizen who spent his career serving his countrymen. That made it all the more difficult for them to watch him portrayed as a traitor.

Among those following Al-Hamdani’s case closely is Hisham Al-Omeisy, a prominent Yemeni commentator who said he was tortured by the Houthis while in detention for five months.

“We know that the message behind these arrests is not intended for the outside world, but is intended to send a message to the ordinary Yemeni people that there will be consequences if they work with anyone but the Houthis,” he added.

“For the Houthis to commit these extreme acts against their own Yemeni citizens is extremely short-sighted, cruel and inhumane,” US Ambassador to Yemen Stephen Fagin said of the recent arrests.

In August, the Houthis stormed the UN human rights office in Sanaa, seizing documents, furniture and vehicles. Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned the move as “a serious attack on the UN’s ability to carry out its mandate.”

The United Nations confirmed that several humanitarian workers who were arrested in June were referred to criminal trial by Houthi authorities.

“The prospect of ‘charges’ being brought against our colleagues is unacceptable and further exacerbates the prolonged incommunicado detention they have already endured,” several UN agencies and international organizations said in a letter dated October 12.

The most important outcome of the crackdown is that it has prompted UN agencies and Western governments to reassess their engagement in Houthi-controlled areas.

“This raises some very serious questions for the UN and these NGOs about whether they can continue to work in Yemen, and if so, on what terms,” Lenderking said. “We want to help the Yemeni people, but the Houthis are making it more difficult to do that safely.”

Source: New York Times