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Human Rights Violations in Aden: Bleak Conditions for Activists and Journalists

Published on 20.01.2025
Reading time: 7 minutes

Activists, journalists, and civil society organizations in the city are facing a series of violations committed by the Southern Transitional Council. Testimonies documented by the Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition show that detainees in Aden are subjected to systematic torture, including beatings, electric shocks, and deprivation of sleep and food.


In May and June of the past year, the Houthi group arrested 72 employees from international and UN organizations in Sana’a and Hodeidah, prompting dozens to relocate to Aden. However, the employees found themselves facing new obstacles imposed by the Southern Transitional Council, which limits their ability to operate freely and safely.

According to the Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition, Aden has become a theater for systematic violations led by the Southern Transitional Council. Practices such as arbitrary detention, torture, and hindering the registration of civil society organizations are used as tools to suppress any opposition or human rights voices.

Complications in Registering Organizations

The Southern Transitional Council, which acts as the de facto authority in Aden, imposes severe restrictions on civil work. Organizations face significant bureaucratic hurdles, such as difficulties in registration and permit renewal, as well as interference in their daily activities.

In the latest violation, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, aligned with the Southern Transitional Council, issued a decision to suspend the activities of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate in the city. The Syndicate condemned the actions, describing them as “arbitrary” against its branch in Aden.

The Syndicate confirmed that this step comes as part of a series of systematic pressures against it, noting the previous storming of its headquarters and the prohibition of organizing events. They also condemned the incitement and threats against the head of their Aden branch, Mahmoud Thabet.

The Syndicate clarified that these actions “lack any legal or constitutional basis,” considering them an extension of the repressive policies that have affected other professional unions in Aden, including the Yemeni Women’s Union and the Republic Workers Union. They asserted that “the practices of the Southern Transitional Council in Aden are no different from those of the Houthi group in Sana’a, stressing that such pressures reinforce their commitment to defending press and professional freedoms in the country.”

According to a report from the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the civil society scene in Aden is filled with obstacles. Many activists are prevented from registering their organizations, and requests are often verbally rejected without any written documentation, depriving organizations of the opportunity for legal recourse.

The report indicates that “at least six organizations have faced direct refusals for registration, while founders of four other organizations were unable to complete the registration process due to their northern origins, which is a clear violation of the principle of non-discrimination.”

One of the founders who attempted to go through with the registration process said: “The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs refused to accept the registration application on the grounds that I am from the north of the country, and despite multiple attempts, we were unable to complete the process.”

The problems do not end with registration; organizations that are already registered face further obstacles when renewing their annual work permits, even though Yemeni law does not require this. Requests are often rejected verbally, making it impossible to appeal the decision.

 According to the Cairo Institute, three organizations were forced to suspend their activities due to their inability to renew permits, which led to paralysis of civil work and undermined efforts to support human rights in the city.

Control Over Civil Society

These repressive practices are merely part of the Southern Transitional Council’s strategy to control civil society. Last year, the authorities issued decrees requiring organizations to submit requests for approval for every planned activity, exposing them to excessive scrutiny and limiting their independence.

For instance, a report from the Cairo Institute mentioned an incident where one organization was forced to provide a list of participants in one of its meetings to the authorities, including identification cards and sources of funding, which constitutes a stark violation of individual privacy and exposes them to security risks.

The report notes that these restrictions affect not only local organizations but also those that have relocated to Aden to escape repression in areas controlled by the Houthi group.

A Dark Scene 

The human rights situation in Yemen as a whole reflects an even grimmer reality. In the northern regions, the Houthis exert iron-fisted control over the civil space, using arbitrary arrests and intimidation to silence dissenting voices.

According to human rights reports, journalists in the north have faced severe violations, including arbitrary detention, torture, and execution, making Yemen one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.

A report issued by the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate documented 2,515 violations against journalists over nine years, including 45 cases of murder.

The situation is not much better in Aden. Journalists and human rights activists face repeated judicial summons on fabricated charges and are often tried in specialized criminal courts that lack standards of justice.

One case that illustrates the repression in Aden involves lawyer and activist Yasser Al-Maliki, who was summoned for trial in Aden on alleged charges relating to forming an armed gang, in a court specializing in terrorism cases. This excessive use of the judiciary as a tool for oppression reflects a broader trend toward silencing dissenting voices and restricting the civil space, both in Aden and other areas.

 The restrictions imposed on journalists are not limited to direct threats but also include interference in media operations.

According to a report from the Center for Media Freedoms in Yemen, media outlets are under severe pressure from various parties, including the Yemeni government, the Houthi group, the Southern Transitional Council, and other armed groups.

These pressures result in a significant lack of independent information available to the public, limiting citizens’ access to reliable news and information sources.

In this context, the Cairo Institute’s report shows that journalists in Aden face increasing risks, as they are subjected to summons, arrests, and ongoing threats.

Recently, journalist Wajdi Al-Salmi was summoned by the Public Funds Investigation Unit in a publishing case, a step that is part of a series of actions aimed at restricting media work in the city.

Lawyer and human rights activist Sami Yassine was summoned in November 2023 to one of the detention centers run by the Security Belt Forces in Aden, where he faced harsh detention conditions.

The Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition’s report pointed out that these processes of arrest usually include transporting the detained to different locations, to hide their location from their families, causing the latter immense psychological pain. 

The Coalition states that journalists and human rights defenders in Aden are systematically targeted by the Southern Transitional Council.

 The Coalition documented details of the arrest of journalist Ahmed Maher in August 2022 due to his political views. He was held under harsh conditions in a police station affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council.

 This situation forces journalists to make a difficult choice between pursuing their profession and facing dangers or abandoning their media work altogether.

Call for Urgent Intervention

The deteriorating situation in Aden and other regions of Yemen has prompted human rights organizations to repeatedly call for urgent intervention from the international community.

The Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition urges the international community to pressure the Southern Transitional Council to put an end to these violations and ensure that local authorities adhere to Yemeni and international laws that guarantee human rights.

The Coalition emphasizes the necessity of establishing an independent international mechanism to monitor violations in Aden and other areas of Yemen, ensuring that those responsible are held accountable.

 Yemeni civil society organizations, which are part of the Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition, call for the “assurance of respect for freedom of association, the removal of restrictions on the registration, the renewal of organizations’ work permits, and cessation of the use of the judiciary as a tool for repression while ensuring its independence and respect for individuals’ right to defense counsel.” Additionally, the recommendations stress the importance of “protecting journalists and activists, providing a safe environment that enables them to play their crucial role in promoting human rights and voicing victims’ concerns.”

Moreover, calls have emerged to enhance the international community’s role in supporting civil society in Yemen. Human rights reports indicate that international intervention should focus on strengthening mechanisms for protecting human rights and ensuring accountability for those responsible for violations.

Yemeni human rights organizations as well as the Justice for Yemen Pact Coalition affirm that achieving these goals requires collective international and regional efforts to provide the necessary support to activists, journalists, and civil society organizations, ensuring their independence and protection from repressive interventions.

The situation in Aden reflects part of the broader human rights crisis in Yemen, which has been exacerbated by armed conflict and political divisions.

The country needs concerted efforts to ensure respect for human rights, enhance the rule of law, and protect civil space from violations. There remains hope that both international and local pressure will lead to improved conditions, ensuring a safer environment for activists and journalists in Yemen.