Documents expose systematic abuses inside Islah-controlled brigade in Lahj
LAHJ, Nov. 09 (YPA) – Official documents issued by bodies affiliated with the Saudi-led coalition have exposed grave and systematic human rights abuses being carried out against civilians inside the Fourth Brigade under the control of the Islah Party in the Tur al-Bahah area of Lahj province.
According to the documents, the brigade’s facilities have been turned into secret prisons and detention centers where dozens of civilians are being held, subjected to arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance, and mistreatment — particularly travelers passing through the Tur al-Bahah route and residents from southern districts of Taiz.
A document issued by the so-called Public Prosecutor for Military Courts, addressed to the coalition-backed Minister of Defense, confirmed that Brigade Commander Abu Bakr al-Jabouli is arbitrarily detaining more than 23 citizens, according to an official list from the coalition’s own Prisons Division.
Further confirming the practice of enforced disappearance, another document from the Prosecutor of the Fourth Military Region revealed that al-Jabouli had detained citizen Yasser Abdelhafiz Abdo Nasser without charge and has denied his family access or information about his condition — a flagrant violation of basic legal principles.
Even coalition-affiliated soldiers have reportedly fallen victim to abuses by Islah elements within the brigade.
A separate memorandum from the same prosecutor’s office disclosed that brigade members had kidnapped two soldiers — Aidrous Ahmed Saif Moqbel and Hossam Ahmed Saif — from the 30th Armored Brigade in November 2023, without any legal justification.
Despite multiple official letters — including one from the pro-coalition defense minister himself to al-Jabouli, urging compliance with directives from the Military Judiciary Director concerning detainee Shihab Ali Mohammed Moqbel — the brigade’s leadership has ignored repeated calls to release the abducted and arbitrarily detained individuals.
In a chilling testament to the alleged torture taking place inside these secret prisons, Islah fighters within the brigade released Tariq al-Humaidi, head of the Investigation Department in al-Maqatirah District and an officer with the Second Giants Brigade, in August after a month-long disappearance. Upon his release, al-Humaidi’s body showed signs of torture.
The secret detention centers run by the Islah-controlled Fourth Brigade have become a nightmare for travelers passing through military checkpoints along the Taiz–Lahj road, as well as for residents of al-Hujariyah and Tur al-Bahah, where arbitrary arrests, disappearances, and torture are said to be widespread — in blatant defiance of national and international law.
@E.Y.M