Review of the fifth periodic report of Yemen

1.6.3Impunity for Extra-judicial Executions

Unfortunately, the response of the Yemeni authorities to the rising death toll of protesters during the events that occurred in 2011, as well as in past years, whether related to the conflict in southern Yemen, or the suppression of the Houthi movement in the north of the country, or in its counter-terrorism measures, has been inadequate. Calls from civil society groups to the Yemeni government to open investigations into excessive use of force by the security services, and to punish those involved in the attacks that lead to the loss of life have gone unheard.⁷³

On 12 March 2011, following the killing of protesters in Sana’a, SABA, the official Yemeni news agency, reported that President Saleh had ordered the establishment of a committee to investigate the events.⁷⁴ There was also a similar report regarding a presidential order to form a panel to investigate the ‘Aden violence’, following the killing of protesters in the city during the month of February 2011.⁷⁵ A further investigation was opened on 26 December 2011 to investigate the deaths committed during the ‘March for Life’, run by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Interior. Those responsible for the investigation visited hospitals and interviewed 14 victims.⁷⁶ Despite this, it seems that most of these investigations are conducted by bodies that lack the mandate to carry independent and impartial investigations into the killings, and they are unlikely to lead to the prosecutions of persons who are responsible for the killings. It is therefore not surprising that reports by these bodies are rarely made public.

In fact, local lawyers and human rights defenders reported that no member of the security or armed forces have been charged or tried for the deaths of demonstrators to date. This is despite local organizations submitting a number of cases of extrajudicial executions to the Public Prosecutor.⁷⁷ The past record of the Yemeni authority in conducting such investigations and bringing perpetrators to justice is also poor. For example, Alkarama treated the cases of Saleh Al-Wasabi and Majed Al-Odeini, who were both killed by agents of the Yemeni security services, in July 2008 and July 2009, respectively. Despite orders from the Ministry of the Interior for the perpetrators to be arrested and handed over to the Prosecution, no action has been taken and the perpetrators remain at large. According to information received, members of the Prosecution investigating the killing have been subjected to pressure from security services, in an attempt to prevent it from pursuing the case and issuing arrest orders against the perpetrators.⁷⁸

In certain cases, such as the attack which occurred on 17 December 2009 on the community of al-Ma'jalah in the Abyan area in the south of Yemen, and which resulted in the killing of 41 local residents, including 14 women and 21 children (also see paragraph 76 above), a parliamentary fact-finding committee was established to examine the case.⁷⁹ The committee reached the conclusion that the raid caused the death of 41 innocent civilians, including women and children, and recommend, inter alia, that the government open an investigation into the killings in order to establish the identity of those responsible for the attack and ensure their prosecution. However, Alkarama is not aware of any such governmental investigation, let alone judicial proceedings initiated against the perpetrators.