The United States has imposed sanctions on Abdul Qader Hassan Yahya Al-Murtadha, the head of the National Committee for Prisoner Affairs, as well as on the committee itself, due to their involvement in severe human rights violations in Yemen. 

Al-Murtadha, in his capacity as the head of the National Committee for Prisoner Affairs, has been directly implicated in torturing prisoners and other forms of cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment or punishment of detainees in Houthi prisons. 

These prisons continue to detain individuals who exercised their human rights and fundamental freedoms, including journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents, local staff of the United Nations, NGOs, and the U.S. Embassy, among others.

According to a statement from the U.S. Embassy, these designations aim to show solidarity with current and former local employees of the United States and publicly condemn the Houthis for their continued gross human rights violations. Additionally, these designations seek to pressure the Houthis and support other efforts by the U.S. government to secure the release of those unjustly detained in Houthi prisons, including U.S. Embassy staff in Yemen.