Al-Houthi arrests 80 people for "work visa" in Saudi Arabia
English - Saturday 27 November 2021 الساعة 05:16 pm
Sana'a, NewsYemen, private:
Sources close to the Houthi militia, the Iranian arm in Yemen, revealed that the militia had arrested nearly 80 people from the governorates of Taiz and Ibb, residing in the capital, Sana'a, while they were trying to travel to Saudi Arabia.
The sources told NewsYemen that what is known as the militia's intelligence service has arrested about 78 people, most of whom are from the governorates of Taiz and Ibb and who have lived in the capital, Sanaa, for a long time, with their families, while they were trying to travel to Saudi Arabia.
According to the sources, these people have officially obtained work permits for entities and companies in Saudi Arabia, and have completed the travel procedures imposed by the Houthi militia through the Ministry of Expatriate Affairs under its control, and while they were heading to the city of Aden via mass travel buses, they were arrested on the grounds of security suspicion.
It pointed out that the arrest process took place during successive periods, and that some of these detainees have been in militia prisons for more than three months, while some of them were released in return for payment of sums of money and at the same time providing commercial and family guarantees and guarantees, but most of the detainees are still in prisons.
The sources add that most of the detainees whose families are unable to follow up on their cases are thrown into militia prisons and detention centers without taking any judicial measures against them or referring them to the prosecution, where they remain there and their detention period may reach years, especially since the Houthi militias deny in many cases that they are behind the arrest, and they deny knowing their whereabouts, while those whose families are able to follow up their cases and who can know their places of detention, they are forced to meet the demands of the Houthi militia and its various intelligence and security services by offering a ransom in exchange for the release of their children.
The sources also said that the process of releasing these people who are being arrested unjustly and without any legal justification is subject to the mood of the Houthi security leaders, and at the same time to the extent to which the detainees’ families are able to provide sums of money quickly in exchange for the release of their children, noting that many families have paid sums of money that ranged between half a million riyals and about one and a half million riyals.
The sources add that the Houthi militia, which often justifies these arrests and violations with allegations that these people travel to join the fighters of the legitimate government, whether in Marib, Saada or the Saudi border fronts, violates the rights of these detainees by linking their release to a guarantee that they will not travel to Saudi Arabia, which is the matter which leads to the loss of their (work visa), that its price sometimes reaches more than ten thousand Saudis.
Noting that there is no justification to prevent them from traveling, especially since those who were released, the militias could not prove any charges against them other than mere allegations of suspicion and security investigations.
The sources conclude by noting that the militias also practice a racist and regional violation of these rights by preventing them from traveling, while allowing the travel of many people affiliated with Hashemite families or belonging to the regions of Saada, Amran and Sana’a.
