The Huthi de facto authorities must immediately and unconditionally release human rights lawyer Abdul Majid Sabra, who has been arbitrarily detained since 25 September solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, Amnesty International said today. 

“Abdul Majid Sabra is one of Yemen’s most prominent human rights defenders. He has worked tirelessly for years to defend those detained based on their peaceful exercise of their human rights. His courage and dedication have made him the target of repeated harassment and threats from the Huthi authorities,” said Diala Haidar, Yemen researcher at Amnesty International. 

Abdul Majid Sabra’s arbitrary detention marks a further and chilling escalation of the Huthis’ relentless efforts to silence anyone they view as a critic of their policies. This travesty of justice must stop.

Diala Haidar, Yemen researcher at Amnesty International.

“Abdul Majid Sabra’s arbitrary detention marks a further and chilling escalation of the Huthis’ relentless efforts to silence anyone they view as a critic of their policies. This travesty of justice must stop. His detention comes in the context of a much wider crackdown on civic space in northern Yemen, in which the Huthis have arrested scores, including humanitarian workers, human rights defenders, journalists, and activists.” 

Abdul Majid Sabra was arrested on 25 September 2025 from his office in Sana’a by a group of Huthi armed forces and armed men in civilian clothing. According to a relative, the men presented him with an arrest warrant and said that his arrest was due to his social media posts marking the anniversary of Yemen’s 26th of September Revolution.  

The Huthis have not disclosed Abdul Majid Sabra’s whereabouts, and his family has not been able to contact him. When they arrested him, the Huthis confiscated his mobile phone and documents related to his work. Until he is released, the Huthis must ensure he is protected from torture and other ill-treatment and immediately grant him access to his family and lawyers.  

On 26 September, a date that marks the establishment of the Yemen Arab Republic in 1962, people celebrate by torch-lighting and taking to the streets carrying the flag of the Yemeni Republic. Amnesty International has previously documented the Huthi de facto authorities carrying out a wave of arrests and rounding up scores of people who gathered to peacefully commemorate the anniversary of Yemen’s 26th of September Revolution.  

This year, too, the Huthis have arrested dozens of people in northern governorates who marked the day, according to a lawyer following up on the cases of some of the detainees. The lawyer said that the Huthis stopped people at checkpoints and searched their phones for content related to the 26 of September. 

“It is outrageous that people commemorating a national historical moment by peacefully celebrating or posting on social media are being arrested. In previous years, Abdul Majid Sabra was one of the few lawyers who offered legal services to people who had been detained in relation to the 26 September anniversary,” said Diala Haidar. 

The Huthis must immediately release Abdul Majid Sabra and all those who are detained solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of assembly and expression. The Huthis also must release all those who remain in arbitrary detention, including the dozens of UN and civil society staff that they arrested and forcibly disappeared in 2024 and 2025.”