• Yemen: Detained, Tortured, and Disappeared
    May 7, 2012
    Press release
    Yemeni security forces have arbitrarily detained dozens of demonstrators and other perceived opponents of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh since anti-government protests began in February 2011. Human Rights Watch documented 37 cases in which security forces have held people for days, weeks, or months without charge, including 20 who were picked up or remained behind bars after the November 2011 power transfer.
  • Yemen: Militants Should End Threat to Kill Captives
    Apr 25, 2012
    Press release
    A Yemeni armed group linked to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula should immediately retract its threat to execute 73 captured government soldiers. Ansar al-Sharia (“Partisans of Islamic Law”) threatened to kill the soldiers if authorities do not agree to swap them for detained Islamist militants.
  • US: Transfer CIA Drone Strikes to Military
    Apr 20, 2012
    Press release
    Remarks by a US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official suggesting the agency is not legally bound by the laws of war underscore the urgent need for the Obama administration to transfer command of all aerial drone strikes to the armed forces.
  • Yemen: Transition Needs Accountability, Security Reform
    Apr 6, 2012
    Press release
    Yemen’s transition to a democracy that respects human rights and the rule of law is at risk unless the new government moves swiftly on security reform and accountability for past crimes.
  • Arab League: Carry Out, Monitor Syria Sanctions
    Mar 29, 2012
    Press release
    The League of Arab States should at its summit in Baghdad that began on March 27, 2012, commit to carrying out and monitoring the implementation of the targeted sanctions against the Syrian leadership it agreed to in November 2011.
  • Yemen: Ensure Rights Progress Follows Leadership Change
    Feb 22, 2012
    Press release
    Yemen’s incoming president, Abd Rabu Mansur Hadi, should take immediate steps to ensure Yemen’s transition to the rights-respecting democracy that thousands of protesters have sought.
  • Yemen: Unlawful Attacks, Denial of Medical Care in Taizz
    Feb 8, 2012
    Press release
    Yemeni security forces stormed and shelled hospitals, evicted patients at gunpoint, and beat medics during an assault on Yemen’s protest movement that killed at least 120 people in the flashpoint city of Taizz last year. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is in the United States receiving medical treatment, received amnesty in Yemen for such attacks.
  • Yemen: Governments Should Oppose Saleh’s Immunity
    Jan 29, 2012
    Press release
    Yemeni President Ali Abudllah Saleh’s arrival in the United States for medical treatment highlights the need for international action to serve justice for serious crimes in Yemen.
  • Yemen: Amnesty for Saleh and Aides Unlawful
    Jan 23, 2012
    Press release
    A new law granting amnesty to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his aides violates Yemen’s international legal obligations, Human Rights Watch said today. The sweeping law provides domestic immunity from criminal prosecution for serious international crimes such as the deadly attacks on peaceful demonstrators in 2011.
  • Yemen: Reject Immunity Law for President Saleh and Aides
    Jan 10, 2012
    Press release
    Yemen’s parliament should reject a draft law that would grant amnesty to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and anyone who served with him for crimes committed during his 33-year rule. The sweeping measure could result in impunity for serious international crimes such as deadly attacks on anti-government demonstrators in 2011.