NYN | News
The Southern Revolutionary Movement Council issued a statement on Thursday condemning what it described as “arbitrary arrests” targeting its leaders in Abyan province, following the detention of two of its prominent members. The council called the accusations made against them by the Southern Transitional Council (STC) “malicious and fabricated.”
In its statement, the council said it is following “with deep concern” the ongoing arrest campaigns and media defamation carried out by STC forces supported by the Saudi-Emirati coalition, noting that their aim is to “demonize the Revolutionary Movement and exclude it from the southern scene.”
The statement mentioned that STC-affiliated forces in Abyan had arrested Mohammed Awad Hadi, head of the council in the governorate and a member of its political bureau, and Mohammed bin Arwa, a journalist and also a member of the political bureau, without any legal justification.
The council also condemned the release of recorded videos showing the two leaders “under duress,” stressing that this constitutes a blatant violation of human rights. It demanded their immediate release and an end to what it described as “systematic violations” against opponents of the STC.
The statement denied the validity of the charges brought against the movement’s leaders, asserting that they come within the context of “attempts to silence voices rejecting guardianship and dependency.” It pointed out that several other council leaders, including Sheikh Abdulwali Al-Subaihi and the activist Asaad Sakeena, remain detained in prisons run by STC and coalition forces “without any legal justification.”
The council noted that the escalation in arrests and media smear campaigns came after a televised interview with Mohammed Dumbaa Al-Nakhai, acting head of the political bureau, in which he spoke about “the southern reality and UAE-backed practices,” sparking “an angry reaction within the STC.”
In conclusion, the Revolutionary Movement Council called for building a democratic and pluralistic South that “rejects exclusion and dependency,” holding the STC forces and the Saudi-Emirati coalition fully responsible for the safety of its detained leaders and for “the ongoing violations against public freedoms and human rights.”
