By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2025-04-09

ADEN -- The Iran-backed Houthis have ramped up a campaign of arbitrary arrests in areas under their control as they become increasingly paranoid about espionage amid a US air campaign targeting their military facilities.

Between March 26 and 27 alone, the Houthis detained over 75 civilians in Yemen's northern provinces, sparking outrage among residents, who accuse the group of preparing standardized espionage accusations.

Many were detained simply for checking their mobile phones during airstrikes or on vague accusations of "communicating with foreign entities," according to a March 30 report by the SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties.

The Houthis are targeting anyone suspected of sympathizing with US military action or criticizing the group's provocations in the Red Sea, residents of Houthi-controlled of Sanaa and Saada told Asharq al-Awsat.

An extensive network of informants now blankets residential areas, and the group has created specialized units to track civilian movements.

"There is real fear within the terrorist group, showing they have been dealt powerful blows that have reached unexpected places," Deputy Justice Minister Faisal al-Majeedi told Al-Fassel.

"There may be casualties among the group's leaders, as the United States has announced, amid utmost secrecy by the group."

'Espionage' charges

"The Houthis readily resort to using the charge of espionage against anyone who opposes them," Abdul Qader al-Kharraz, director of research at the Berlin-based Arab Democratic Center, told Al-Fassel.

"The Houthis are only interested in their own survival, the preservation of Tehran's project in Yemen, and maintaining Iran's proxy power in the region."

"The uncovered cases represent only a fraction of the actual arbitrary arrests," said Fahmi al-Zubairi, director general of the human rights office in Sanaa.

The Houthis have arrested dozens of staffers from the UN and other humanitarian organizations, most of them since the middle of 2024, AFP reported in February.

In January alone, they detained eight UN workers, including six in Saada, which adds to the dozens of NGO and UN personnel detained since June.

The Houthis claimed the June arrests included a "spy network" operating under the cover of humanitarian organisations -- allegations emphatically rejected by the UN Human Rights Office.

One UN World Food Program worker, detained since January 23, died in Houthi custody in February. France said he "was arbitrarily detained by the Houthis under inhumane conditions."

The UN subsequently suspended aid operations in Saada province.

SAM condemned the Houthis for holding detainees without trial and called for the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained civilians who were seized without legal grounds.

"These violations reflect growing systematic repression and silencing of voices, and threaten social peace in Yemen," the Geneva-based rights group said.