execution of prisoner Al-Afari in Taiz: A bullet in the flesh of international law

The execution of prisoner Al-Afari in Taiz: A bullet in the flesh of international law

In continuation of the series of brutal crimes and violations, and the blatant violation of all humanitarian laws, the Intisaf Organization condemns and denounces in the strongest terms what happened to prisoner Issa Muqbil Al-Afari in prisons run by factions loyal to the Saudi-led coalition in Taiz Governorate.

Members of the Islah Party, part of the coalition, executed Al-Afari, a prisoner, last Thursday after fabricating a charge against him and conducting an illegal sham trial. This incident demonstrates the criminality and brutality practiced by these members.

This crime constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law, which protects prisoners and detainees, specifically the killing of prisoners and extrajudicial execution. This act constitutes a war crime under the provisions of international humanitarian law and a violation of the Geneva Conventions, including Common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions, which explicitly prohibits violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, cruel treatment, and torture. It also emphasizes the need for trials with basic judicial guarantees that civilized peoples consider indispensable, a requirement that was not met in the alleged “sham trial.”

This crime demonstrates the failure of the Saudi-led coalition forces and their mercenaries to comply with the most fundamental principles and rules of humanity.

This crime is an extension of a series of murders, dragging, and torture to which detainees and prisoners are subjected by armed factions affiliated with the coalition forces.

We hold the Saudi-led coalition fully responsible for this crime and its predecessors, as they are the commanding force behind these operations and factions.

We demand an urgent and transparent international investigation and the immediate criminal prosecution of coalition leaders and all those proven to be involved in these crimes.

We call on the United Nations and the Security Council to assume their legal and moral responsibilities and break their shameful silence. Continued disregard for these violations encourages coalition forces to commit more war crimes against the Yemeni people, even more brutally.

Issued by the Entesaf Organization for Women’s and Children’s Rights

Sana’a – October 4, 2025