Amnesty International called on the Houthi rebels to “immediately and unconditionally release human rights lawyer Abdul Majid Sabra, who has been arbitrarily detained since 25 September”.
Sabra’s arbitrary detention marks a further and chilling escalation of the Huthis’ relentless efforts to silence anyone they view as a critic of their policies. This travesty of justice must stop.
Diala Haidar, Yemen researcher at Amnesty International said that Sabra’s arbitrary detention comes in the context of a much wider crackdown on civic space in northern Yemen, in which the Huthis have arrested scores, including humanitarian workers, human rights defenders, journalists, and activists.
According to a relative of Mr Sabra he was arrested on 25 September 2025 from his office in Sana’a by a group of Houthi armed men who presented him with an arrest warrant and said that his arrest was due to his social media posts marking the anniversary of Yemen’s 26th of September Revolution.
The Houthis have not disclosed Abdul Majid Sabra’s whereabouts, and his family has not been able to contact him. When they arrested him, the Huthis confiscated his mobile phone and documents related to his work.
Amnesty International statement added that Until Sabra is released, the Huthis must ensure he is protected from torture and other ill-treatment and immediately grant him access to his family and lawyers.
“It is outrageous that people commemorating a national historical moment by peacefully celebrating or posting on social media are being arrested. In previous years, Abdul Majid Sabra was one of the few lawyers who offered legal services to people who had been detained in relation to the 26 September anniversary,” said Diala Haidar.
The Huthis must immediately release Abdul Majid Sabra and all those who are detained solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of assembly and expression. The Huthis also must release all those who remain in arbitrary detention, including the dozens of UN and civil society staff that they arrested and forcibly disappeared in 2024 and 2025.”