17 August 2010

Yemen : Release of Mr Sadman Hossain, after 6 months of secret detention

Mr Sadman Hossain was arrested on 14 February 2010 and disappeared for 6 months before being sent back to his country of origin, Bangladesh, on 12 August 2010. He testifies that in addition to being mistreated, he was detained secretly and in total isolation in an underground cell.
To recall:
Mr Sadman Hossain is a 21-year-old Bengali national who was studying at the "Sana'a Institute for Arabic Language" at the time of his arrest. He was arrested on 14 February 2010 by agents from Political Security who grabbed him while he was walking in the direction of Sana'a international airport. He was not shown an arrest warrant, nor was he presented with any reasons for his arrest. He was then taken to an unknown location.

The day following his arrest, Mr Rifat Hossain, his father who was living in Bangladesh, contacted Sageen, a local human rights NGO. Sageen sent two letters to the Minister of Interior and the head of Political Security to request they act to ensure Mr Sadman Hossain, and a group of Bengali students arrested and disappeared in the same circumstances either be released or tried.

On 26 April 2010, Alkarama requested the intervention of the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances to urgently contact the Yemeni authorities to direct they release Mr Sadman Hossain.

Yemen - HR Instruments

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

ICCPR: Accessed on 09.02.1987
Optional Protocol: No

State report: Due on 30.03.2015 (6th)
Last concluding observations: 23.04.2012

Convention against Torture (CAT)

CAT: Accessed on 05.11.1991
Optional Protocol: No
Art. 20 (Confidential inquiry): Yes
Art. 22 (Individual communications): No

State report: Overdue since 14.05.2014 (3rd)
Last concluding observations: 17.12.2009

International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance (CED)

No

Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

Last review: 01.2014 (2nd cycle)
Next review: -

National Human Rights Institution (NHRI)

No