Outrage Over UN Envoy’s Meeting with Sanctioned Houthi Leader: A Blow to Justice

Journalists who were released from Houthi prisons have expressed strong condemnation of the meeting between the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, and Abdulqader Al-Murtadha, a Houthi leader listed under international sanctions for severe human rights violations against detainees, including journalists.

Abdulkhaleq Imran, a journalist previously imprisoned by the Houthis, described the meeting as a "dangerous and condemnable step." In a Facebook post, he stated: "This meeting not only undermines the principles of justice and human rights but also sends a direct insult to the victims and their families. It paves the way for impunity and perpetuates a culture of human rights abuses without accountability."

Imran called on the United Nations and the international community to take a firm and unequivocal stance against collaborating with perpetrators of crimes or legitimizing them under the guise of peace negotiations. "How can the international community and the UN envoy engage with an individual involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity, thereby granting them legitimacy while victims continue to demand justice and accountability?" he asked.

Similarly, Tawfiq Al-Mansoori, another journalist freed from Houthi captivity, expressed dismay at the meeting. He said: "The meeting between Grundberg and Abdulqader Al-Murtadha, a criminal who personally tortured me and my fellow journalists and who is sanctioned by the US Treasury, is incomprehensible. It only reinforces a culture of impunity."

Al-Mansoori warned that such actions send a troubling message to victims, signaling the world’s indifference to their suffering while providing a platform for perpetrators to negotiate and appear as legitimate stakeholders in peace processes.

In December, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on Al-Murtadha, head of the Houthi "Prisoner Affairs Committee," for his direct involvement in torturing detainees, including journalists, and for committing other inhumane acts.

Testimonies from victims reveal horrifying accounts of systematic torture and inhumane treatment under Al-Murtadha’s supervision in Houthi-controlled prisons, particularly in the notorious Central Security Prison in Sana’a, also known as "Al-Murtadha’s prison."