The United States on Thursday blacklisted five top officials belonging to the Iran-backed Houthi militia for human rights abuses. The US sanctions also targeted officials in Russia and Haiti. In a statement on Thursday, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said is targeting perpetrators of serious human rights abuse across several countries to mark International Human Rights Day. "As we recognize International Human Rights Day, the United States stands with innocent civilians around the globe who have been victims of violence and oppression," said Deputy Secretary of the US Treasury Justin G. Muzinich. "The United States also welcomes the growing ability of our partners to join us in targeting human rights abuses. Over the last few months, the United Kingdom and the European Union have each adopted new sanctions authorities, creating a powerful, global framework for targeting human rights abuses." The US Treasury said that in Yemen, the country's various Houthi-controlled security and intelligence agencies have committed serious human rights abuse, engaging in the prevailing practice of the arbitrary detention and torture of its citizens. Students, women, human rights activists, journalists, humanitarian workers, perceived political opponents, and members of the Baha'i community have been targeted, illegally arrested, and mistreated in detention centers run by these various agencies, like the National Security Bureau (NSB), the Political Security Organization (PSO), and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The blacklisted Houthi officials are Sultan Zabin, Abdul Hakim Al-Khaiwani, Abdul Rahab Jarfan, Motlaq Amer Al-Marrani, and Qader Al-Shami. According to the US Treasury Department, as the current Director of the Sana'a CID, Sultan Zabin and his CID officers have arrested, detained, and tortured women under the pretense of a policy designed to curb prostitution and organized crime. In reality, this policy was used to target politically active women who opposed the Houthis, and resulted in numerous reported cases of illegal arrest, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, sexual violence, rape, torture, and other cruel treatment utilized by the Sana'a CID against these women. As a Houthi member and Deputy Minister of the Interior, Abdul Hakim Al-Khaiwani was responsible for many detention facilities and security forces, including the Sana'a CID. The illegal arrest, detention, and torture of women conducted by the CID was done so under the ultimate authority of the Ministry of Interior. Abdul Rahab Jarfan is a Houthi member and the former Head of the NSB. Under Jarfan, the NSB systematically engaged in torture and abusive detention of Yemeni citizens. During his tenure as a leader or official of the NSB, including his tenure as the Deputy Head of the NSB, Motlaq Amer Al-Marrani oversaw detainees of the NSB, who were reportedly subjected to torture and other mistreatment by members of the NSB while detained. In addition, Al-Marrani played a significant role in the arrest, detention, and ill-treatment of humanitarian workers and other authorities working on humanitarian assistance and was also found to have abused his authority and influence over humanitarian access as leverage to generate personal profit. Qader Al-Shami is a Houthi member and the former director of the PSO. Since late 2014, the PSO has been responsible for the regular practice of illegal detention and torture of prisoners, including children. PSO officials were found to have been keeping detainees in undisclosed locations, subjecting them to torture, and not allowing them to communicate with their families, depriving them of their fundamental liberties.
