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Red Cross urges support for Yemeni detainees

ICRC says that Yemen government must grant access for families and lawyers to detainees held in Yemeni prisons, calling it a humanitarian necessity

The suffering of thousands of families who have had no contact with relatives detained in relation to the conflict in Yemen must end, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday.

“We urgently call on all sides, including states supporting parties on the ground, to ensure unconditional and immediate access to people detained in relation with the conflict,” said Dominik Stillhart, ICRC’s global Director of Operations, who completed a five-day visit to Yemen on Tuesday.

“Hundreds of families have approached us on this issue. Some of them have been without news from their loved ones for years. Enforced disappearances and allegations of ill-treatment and deteriorating conditions further add to the plight of detainees and to families’ anxiety,” Mr. Stillhart added.

Such visits are a non-negotiable humanitarian imperative, Mr. Stillhart said. They also would be an important contribution to the building of mutual trust amongst Yemeni communities.

Protest in Sanaa, Yemen (February 3, 2011) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The ICRC last year visited more than 11,000 detainees in Yemen and 250 Yemeni detainees in Saudi Arabia. “However, many conflict-related detainees remain off-limits in many locations. This has to change in the best interest of all sides,” Mr. Stillhart said.

The ICRC works around the world to ensure humane conditions of detention by regularly visiting places of detention, meeting with detainees to monitor their conditions and treatment, and by bringing about improvements. It discusses its findings confidentially with the authorities concerned.

For further information:

Visit our website: www.icrc.org or Follow the ICRC on facebook.com/icrc and twitter.com/icrc
To preview and download the latest ICRC video footage in broadcast quality, go to www.icrcvideonewsroom.org
To find out what the ICRC is doing to put an end to attacks on health workers and patients, go to www.healthcareindanger.org

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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