Yemen : Elderly Yemeni Dies After Torture in Houthi Detention; Groups Demand Release of Journalist

Hodeidah — A 70‑year‑old Yemeni man died after being subjected to torture in Houthi detention, just days after being abducted in the Red Sea province of Hodeidah, rights sources .

Residents discovered Qasim al‑Qadri, father of four children with disabilities, in critical condition in the rural area of al‑Badwah. He died while locals attempted to rush him to hospital for emergency care. 

Sources said al‑Qadri had been seized three days earlier in Zabid district after visiting a humanitarian aid distribution center to seek assistance for his family. Houthi officials accused him of ties to a neighboring country where he had worked decades ago.

Witnesses reported severe signs of torture on his body.

Meanwhile, international and local organizations renewed demands for the Houthis to reveal the fate of journalist Wahid al‑Sufi, who has been forcibly disappeared since April 2015.

Groups including Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the Media Freedoms Observatory said al‑Sufi was abducted without charges or judicial process, while his family continues to face harassment. They described his case as one of the longest enforced disappearances of a journalist in Yemen.

In a joint statement, the organizations warned that the Houthis’ continued concealment of al‑Sufi’s whereabouts is intended to intimidate journalists and silence media voices. They urged international actors to intensify pressure on the group to disclose his location and release all detained journalists.