65 civil organizations condemn the Houthis' violations against mosques and Quran centers and demand international intervention.

Arab Sea Newspaper - Follow-ups

Sixty-five Yemeni civil society organizations condemned the series of violations committed by the Houthi militia against mosques, Quran memorization centers, and religious centers in a number of governorates, describing these actions as a blatant attack on freedom of worship and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. In a joint statement, the organizations said that "the repeated Houthi attacks are not limited to destroying religious buildings, but target the system of values on which the tolerant Yemeni society is based," stressing that these practices represent a direct threat to the sectarian and religious coexistence that has characterized Yemen throughout its history. The statement pointed out that the bombing and shelling of mosques and their transformation into military barracks or security headquarters constitutes a clear violation of Article (53) of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, which prohibits attacks on places of worship as part of the cultural and spiritual heritage of peoples. It also clarified that targeting imams, preachers, and missionaries with murder, abduction, or torture is a war crime according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, noting that these violations represent a fundamental infringement on freedom of religion and belief and human rights. The organizations called on the UN Security Council and the High Commissioner for Human Rights to assume their legal and moral responsibilities in protecting places of worship in Yemen and to open an independent international investigation to document these crimes and hold the perpetrators accountable. They also called on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to consider these violations as war crimes that warrant prosecution, and called on international media to highlight the Houthi violations against places of worship and the danger they pose to the culture of tolerance and coexistence in Yemen. The organizations concluded their statement by emphasizing that international silence regarding these crimes constitutes moral complicity, stressing that justice and accountability are the only way to redress victims and protect the sanctity of places of worship in a country exhausted by war and sectarian division.