Yemen: Abdul Majid Sabra on hunger strike whilst in detention
On 11 December 2025, human rights defender and lawyer Abdul Majid Sabra informed his family that he was on hunger strike in protest against his arbitrary detention by Houthi de facto authorities (Ansar Allah) in Yemen.
Abdul Majid Sabra is a prominent human rights defender and lawyer who has worked tirelessly to defend individuals detained for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights in Yemen. Over the years, he has represented journalists, political activists, and other victims of arbitrary detention. The defender uses social media platforms to advocate for human rights and provide updates on the cases he defends.
On 11 December 2025, human rights defender and lawyer Abdul Majid Sabra informed his family that he was on hunger strike in protest against his arbitrary detention by Houthi de facto authorities (Ansar Allah) in Yemen.
Abdul Majid Sabra is a prominent human rights defender and lawyer who has worked tirelessly to defend individuals detained for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights in Yemen. Over the years, he has represented journalists, political activists, and other victims of arbitrary detention. The defender uses social media platforms to advocate for human rights and provide updates on the cases he defends.
On 11 December 2025, Abdul Majid Sabra made a phone call to his family and informed them that he had begun a hunger strike in protest against his arbitrary detention. According to reports, the human rights defender is being held at the Houthi Police Intelligence and Counterterrorism Service in Sana’a and has been placed in solitary confinement. The conditions of his detention raise serious concerns about his physical and psychological wellbeing.
On 25 September 2025, a group of Houthi (Ansar Allah) armed forces and plain-clothed armed men arrested Abdul Majid Sabra after they stormed his office in the Shamila area of the capital, Sana’a, and took him to an unknown location. For several days following the arrest, his family was neither able to communicate with him nor obtain any information regarding his whereabouts, placing them under severe psychological stress. According to a family member, the armed men presented an arrest warrant and stated that the defender was being detained due to his social media posts marking the anniversary of Yemen’s 26 September Revolution. His arrest and subsequent detention appear to be directly linked to his legitimate human rights work and peaceful exercise of expression.
Front Line Defenders is gravely concerned about Abdul Majid Sabra’s physical and psychological wellbeing, particularly in light of his hunger strike. The organisation condemns his arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance and believes that he is being targeted solely for his peaceful human rights work and legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression.
Front Line Defenders urges the Houthi de facto authorities (Ansar Allah) in Yemen to:
- Immediately and unconditionally release human rights defender Abdul Majid Sabra;
- Take all necessary measures to ensure that his physical and psychological security and integrity is protected and that he has access to a lawyer and adequate medical care without delay;
- End the practice of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance, and immediately release all human rights defenders detained solely for peacefully exercising their human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association;
- Guarantee in all circumstances that human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, and activists in Yemen are able to carry out their legitimate and peaceful human rights work without fear of reprisals, intimidation, or judicial harassment.
