Houthi Militia Accused of Destroying Central Prison in Al Jawf

The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms has documented the Houthi militia's alleged bombing of the central prison and adjacent facilities in Al Hazm city, Al Jawf Governorate, raising significant concerns about the fate of inmates and detainees.

Field reports and eyewitness testimonies indicate that armed elements affiliated with the group were observed transporting boxes believed to contain explosives into the prison building. This was followed by a violent explosion that leveled the facility and caused extensive material damage to neighboring structures.

Monitoring teams from the network are continuing their efforts to gather evidence, verify casualty numbers, and ascertain the unknown fate of the detainees. They are prioritizing the verification of accounts from the area to ensure information accuracy amidst the group's reported efforts to obscure the incident.

The network emphasized that the involvement of any party in destroying a detention facility housing prisoners or abductees constitutes a grave crime requiring an independent international investigation. It warned against attempts to conceal evidence or mislead public opinion regarding the circumstances of this destructive act.

The network concluded its statement by demanding that relevant authorities immediately disclose the fate of all detainees. It also called for urgent intervention from international human rights organizations to enable investigation teams to access the incident site and ascertain the reality of the situation for victims and abductees.