Young man dies of torture in the prisons of Houthi militia in western Yemen

A young man died after being tortured in Houthi prisons on Thursday in the western province of Hodeidah.

The family of fisherman Ali Akbar Ali Mohammed Shami, 20, received a report about the death of their son on Thursday, reported Al Arabiya.

Shami died several days after he was kidnapped by Houthi militias along with a number of his relatives.

According to a letter published by the Yemeni lawyer Abdul Rahman Berman to the victim's family, he died of torture.

The family found their son dead in the hospital after he was detained by the Houthis along with other relatives while they were fishing at sea. The militia detained them on charges of catching shrimp off-season, then the accusations extended to cooperation with ISIS and smuggling, according to the report.

Houthi militias kidnapped five fishermen at the end of last July in the Salif district. The others were released after being transferred to several secret prisons.

The victim was brutally tortured and was found bleeding from blows received during the interrogation. Then he was transferred to the military hospital in Hodeidah.

This is the fourth Yemeni victim to be brutally tortured in Houthi prisons. Three cases were documented last month in various areas controlled by the militia.

The Yemeni government revealed in an official statement, last month that "more than 70 abductees were killed by the Houthis and Saleh’s militias due to torture and inhuman detention conditions."