Saudi Arabia Condemned over Attack on Yemeni Prison

In a statement, the center said the Saudi attack on the Al-Hazm prison constituted a serious violation of international humanitarian law because the facility held people deprived of their freedom.

The center said that targeting prisoners and detention facilities, regardless of justification, constituted an apparent violation of international conventions and called for those responsible to be held accountable.

Separately, Abdulqader Al-Murtada, head of Yemen’s National Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs, said Monday that the “criminal Saudi regime” had targeted a prison in Al-Hazm the previous night.

Al-Murtada said the facility was holding a number of prisoners and that the attack killed nine prisoners captured during what he called recent events.

He added that the names of those killed would be released soon.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Al Masirah television reported new Saudi attacks on residential areas in Saada province.

The channel reported that the residential area of Talan, west of Haydan district, had come under a new Saudi missile attack.

Al Masirah also reported that Saudi forces targeted Al-Dhahir district and surrounding areas in Saada with missile strikes.

According to the Ain Al-Insaniya Human Rights Center, the latest attack came amid an increase in Saudi attacks on several Yemeni provinces, particularly Saada, Al-Jawf, Taiz and Ma’rib.

The center describes itself as a human rights organization working to monitor violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Yemen, and has published reports concerning crimes committed by Saudi Arabia and its allies in the country.

Al-Jawf, in northeastern Yemen, has repeatedly witnessed clashes and attacks, while Al-Hazm serves as the province’s capital.

The center said targeting a prison holding prisoners constituted a violation of international law and conventions governing the treatment of detainees.

Saada, in northern Yemen along the Saudi border, has repeatedly come under Saudi air, missile and artillery attacks since the Saudi military aggression against Yemen began in 2015.

Haydan and Al-Dhahir are among the border districts of Saada that have been repeatedly affected by the attacks.

Yemeni reports have said that Saudi attacks have intensified across several provinces during the latest escalation, while the Yemeni Armed Forces have responded by targeting Saudi military bases and Aramco facilities.