Rights Report: 117 Children Abducted, 18 Dead Over Seven Years
The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms revealed in a new report that the Houthi group has abducted at least 117 children between January 1, 2018, and April 30, 2025, as part of a broader campaign of violations affecting some 1,937 civilians across 17 Yemeni governorates. The victims also include 43 women and 89 elderly individuals.
The report, released in conjunction with the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (June 26), stated that 18 of the abducted children died either under torture or due to deteriorating health conditions in Houthi prisons—or shortly after their release, in what appears to be an attempt by the group to evade responsibility for their deaths.
The Yemeni Network expressed growing concern over the widespread and systematic torture of children and other detainees, including beatings, suspension, and shackling in painful positions. These practices, it warned, reflect a serious collapse of human rights in areas under Houthi control.
The report concluded by stressing that the Houthi group continues to commit systematic torture against thousands of civilians, including children, amid a complete absence of international accountability. It called for urgent international intervention to protect Yemeni children from such brutal violations.
