Human rights organisations express concerns about the escalated repression of civil society in Yemen

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On 15th December 2025, human rights organisations reported that Yemeni authorities have escalated repression against civil society. They documented increased harassment of activists, arbitrary arrests, and prosecutions under vague laws.

On 27th November 2025, the Yemeni Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour (MoSAL) prohibited all civil society actors from engaging with Mwatana for Human Rights, a Yemeni nongovernmental organisation that documents human rights abuses by all warring parties in Yemen. The decision, issued under reference number (1001), instructs local councils, social affairs offices, and civil society organisations in areas under the internationally recognised government’s authority to “refrain from any interaction with the entity called Mwatana for Human Rights” and to treat it as an “unauthorised organisation” under Yemeni law.

The decision reflects a broader pattern of repression against civil society, human rights defenders, and journalists by authorities across Yemen. This move follows many other instances over the last few years in which the Yemeni government and MoSAL, as well as the Southern Transitional Council (STC), have obstructed the work of Yemeni civil society organisations, including the Yemen Journalists Syndicate and the Yemen Women’s Union.

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On 17th December 2025, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that Yemeni journalist Naseh Shaker has been detained for more than two years by Houthi authorities in Sana’a. Shaker, who covered humanitarian issues and the impact of the conflict, was arrested in August 2023 and remains held without trial or access to legal counsel. HRW condemned this prolonged detention as a violation of international law and called for his immediate release, noting that his case reflects a broader pattern of repression against journalists in Yemen.