Human rights sources in Saada Governorate reported the death of detainee Rabie Ali Hussein Abu Mashaaf under mysterious circumstances inside Qahzah Prison, located north of Yemen's Saada city. The prisoner’s body was discovered hanged in the facility’s bathroom at dawn on Tuesday, sparking allegations of foul play.

According to local sources, the Iran-backed Houthi militia—which administers the prison—has refused to open an official inquiry into the incident, further fueling suspicions of a cover-up.

The sources disclosed that the prison’s warden, known as “Abu Hani,” ordered the immediate burial of the body and the abrupt closure of the case without conducting autopsies or legal reviews, in what rights groups describe as a “blatant violation of international human rights standards.”

Human rights organizations, including local Yemeni watchdogs, have demanded an independent, UN-backed investigation into Abu Mashaaf’s death and broader conditions inside Houthi-run detention centers. These facilities are notorious for systematic abuses, including torture, forced disappearances, and neglect, with thousands of civilians held in overcrowded, unsanitary cells under a total media and humanitarian blackout.