NUR SİRÎB

Yemen – A Houthi militia court in Sana’a has issued a death sentence against activist and lawyer Zaafaran Zayed, director of Women Empowerment Foundation, and her husband Fouad Al-Mansoori on June 16.

After the death sentences were announced, NGOs and women’s organization have launched a campaign to show their solidarity with Zaafaran Zayed and her husband. Zaafaran Zayed spoke to our news agency about the death sentences against her and her husband. “Legally, these are not judicial rulings; they don’t meet any criteria for the litigation process. They are orders under the name of justice. These orders cause death sentences. I didn’t know that I was being tried, and the court did not appoint any lawyer to defend me. I did not receive any documents or announcement of this ruling, but I heard the news from the media and social media.”

Talking about the reason for the death sentence against them, Zaafaran Zayed said, “We have been sentenced to the death penalty for uncovering the crimes and violations committed by the Houthi militias. But we never stopped working for forcibly displaced people by the militias. We protected the victims; we provided medical and psychological supports to them.”

Zaafaran Zayed sent a message to all women, human rights defenders, and activists, “Our struggle for rights will never lose because you demand them. You are the hope and supporters of all victims in Yemen.”

Who is Zaafaran Zayed?

Zaafaran Zayed is a Yemeni lawyer and activist who founded the Women Empowerment Foundation in Yemen in 2010 to combat violence and torture before the Houthi militias stormed the Yemeni capital Sana'a in 2014.