• Yemen: Court Orders Investigation of Ex-President
    Press release
    Apr 30, 2013
    A Yemeni court order to investigate former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and 11 aides in connection with a March 2011 massacre of anti-government protesters is a step toward justice. On April 27, 2013, a trial court in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, ordered the probe of Saleh and other former ranking officials – including his nephews Yahya Saleh and Tareq Saleh.
  • Yemen: Military Changes a Major Transition Step
    Press release
    Apr 12, 2013
    President Abdu Rabu Hadi’s removal from military command on April 10, 2013, of senior figures linked to abuse was a key step in Yemen’s post-uprising transition. The president’s appointment of some of these key figures to posts in which they would have diplomatic immunity is a source of concern, however.
  • Yemen: Reveal Any Military Role in Journalist’s Killing
    Press release
    Apr 3, 2013
    Yemen’s Defense Ministry should cooperate in bringing the killer of a journalist and his friend to justice, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the defense minister, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, requesting information about possible military involvement in the case.
  • Letter to Yemeni Minister of Defense on Death of Journalist Wagdy al-Shabi
    Letter
    Apr 3, 2013
  • Yemen’s Open Wounds
    Commentary
    Mar 25, 2013
    Yemen has set out on a six-month “national dialogue” to address the key challenges facing the country more than a year after it ousted its longtime ruler, Ali Abdullah Saleh. A draft transitional justice law before parliament is a good indication of how difficult these challenges are going to be. The law would offer little by way of justice for the families of victims of the three decades of dictatorship and rampant human rights violations. Among them are several waves of forced disappearances -- predominantly socialists and Nasserists who were victims of the North-South political strife in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. The UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances reported 102 cases transmitted to the government by 1999.
  • Yemen’s Friday of Indignity
    Commentary
    Mar 18, 2013
    Two years ago on March 18, as popular revolts swept Yemen, gunmen in civilian clothes carried out the deadliest attack on protesters of the country’s 2011 uprising. As state security forces stood by, the gunmen opened fire on protesters amassed for a rally they had named the Friday of Dignity, killing 45 and wounding 200.
  • Yemen: Possible Military Role in Journalist’s Killing
    Press release
    Mar 16, 2013
    Yemeni authorities should ensure that an investigation into the killing of a journalist and another man in Aden fully and impartially examines the military’s possible role and brings those responsible to justice.
  • Yemen: Halt Execution of Alleged Juvenile Offender
    Press release
    Mar 8, 2013
    President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi of Yemen should immediately halt the scheduled execution of a man who may have been under 18 at the time of the alleged crime, Human Rights Watch said today. Mohammad Abd al-karim Mohammad Haza`a is due to face a firing squad on the morning of March 9, 2013.
  • Young, Behind Bars and in Peril in Yemen
    Commentary
    Mar 7, 2013
    The Yemen donors meeting in London this week have plenty of issues to focus on, but they should speak up about one forgotten group in Yemen – youth offenders on death row.
  • Where children are sentenced to death
    Commentary
    Mar 6, 2013
    I met Hind in a prison in Yemen almost a year ago. Nineteen years-old, she wore an orange hooded sweatshirt, a long denim skirt, and the sullen expression of a teenager who trusts that no one is on her side. “Hind doesn’t want to talk to anyone,” a social worker told me.
  • Yemen: Juvenile Offenders Face Execution
    Press release
    Mar 4, 2013
    Yemen’s government should stop seeking and carrying out the death penalty for child offenders, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi should immediately reverse execution orders for three alleged juvenile offenders on death row who have exhausted all appeals and could face a firing squad at any moment.
  • Yemen: Justice Deficit Marks Transition Anniversary
    Press release
    Feb 23, 2013
    Yemen’s transition government should take urgent steps to ensure justice for serious human rights violations during the 2011 uprising, and since the inauguration one year ago of President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi. As part of those efforts, the authorities should immediately carry out an investigation into the deaths of at least four protesters in clashes with state security forces in Aden on February 20 and 21, 2013.
  • Letter to Minister of Interior on Abuses by Central Security Forces
    Letter
    Feb 15, 2013
  • Yemen: Political Interference in Massacre Probe
    Press release
    Feb 12, 2013
    Investigators never questioned top officials in the criminal investigation by Yemen’s previous government into the shooting of demonstrators during the so-called Friday of Dignity Massacre on March 18, 2011, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Former President Ali Abdullah Saleh dismissed his attorney general when he demanded that government officials be questioned in the shooting deaths of 45 protesters – three of them children – and wounding of 200 others. It was the deadliest attack on protesters of Yemen’s uprising
  • US: Act to Protect Children in Conflict
    Press release
    Feb 5, 2013
    The United States government should promptly carry out the recommendations of a United Nations committee of experts to improve protection of children abroad from armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said today. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child released a report and recommendations to the US government on February 5, 2013.
  • A Dangerous Model
    Commentary
    Feb 1, 2013
    The US should reveal its legal rationale for drone attacks.
  • Letter to the UN Security Council on human rights concerns in Yemen
    Letter
    Jan 27, 2013
    We write to highlight key human rights concerns we hope you will address during your forthcoming visit to Yemen. We welcome the Security Council’s decision to visit Yemen as it continues its transition toward democracy and rule of law.