On September 9, 2020, Houthi soldiers detained Sana’a University psychology professor Adnan Abdul Qadir Al-Sharjabi.

Sources, including faculty members, reported that Al-Sharjabi was taken into custody upon arrival at the university. The scholar’s family further reported that Houthi forces raided his home and confiscated his laptop and a flashdrive. Houthi forces did not disclose the basis for detaining Al-Sharjabi, nor did they disclose his whereabouts.

On October 6, Houthi forces released Al-Sharjabi from custody. It was reported that Al-Sharjabi was found in poor health after his release.

On November 1, he reportedly died as a result of heart and lung-related complications. The Gulf Centre for Human Rights reported that the Houthis denied Al-Sharjabi medical care while in custody.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the arbitrary detention and apparent ill-treatment of a scholar, resulting in his death. SAR further offers condolences to Professor Al-Sharjabi’s family, friends, and colleagues. All parties to a conflict must refrain from the detention and disappearance of non-combatants, including members of higher education communities. In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, the arbitrary detention and ill-treatment of a scholar undermines academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://www.gc4hr.org/news/view/2524
https://alraseefpress.net/?p=news_details&id=5148
https://aawsat.com/home/article/2514486/ساتذة-الجامعات-تحت-طائلة-القمع-والتعذيب-في-مناطق-سيطرة-الحوثيين
https://samrl.org/l.php?l=e,10,A,c,1,74,77,3891,htmlhttps://alraseefpress.net/?p=news_details&id=5148
http://www.ama-ye.org/?no=1453&ln=En