The Association of Mothers of Abductees noted that Houthis shelled Taiz's Central Prison despite its status as "an official prison known to all parties (and) considered a civilian entity protected by the Geneva Convention."
Houthis shell women's prison in Taiz, killing six and injuring 28
[ The artillery shell blasted a crater into the floor of the women's prison. ]
Houthi artillery shells killed five women and a child and injured 28 others at the Central Prison in Taiz city on Sunday, an official in the local prosecutor's office told Almasdar Online.
The shells were fired from 50th street, where Houthi fighters are stationed in Taiz city, towards the women’s section of the prison, located in the Al-Dhabab neighborhood in the southern part of the city.
The prosecutor’s office had been preparing to release 38 female prisoners Monday and Tuesday to mitigate the spread of coronavirus in Yemen, the official said. The government, as well as Houthi authorities, have already released nearly 800 male prisoners throughout the country.
Also on Sunday, the Houthis shelled residential neighborhoods in Taiz from their positions on the outskirts of the city.
In a statement, The Association of Mothers of Abductees condemned the shelling of the prison. “Although the Central Prison is an official prison known to all parties, and is considered a civilian entity protected by the Geneva Convention, the Houthi group bombed it with its missiles,” the association said.
The targeting of the prison has been widely condemned by rights groups, including the Center for Information and Rehabilitation of Human Rights, The Children’s Protection Organization (SYAJ), the Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms.
The Yemeni Coalition for Monitoring Human Rights Violations called on all parties to the conflict to make the necessary arrangements to ensure that prisoners and detainees are released in order to protect them from imminent danger.
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Editing by Ahlam Mohsen and Casey Coombs
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