STC Human Rights Department Handed a Notice of Violations to the High Commissioner for Human Rights

  Head of the Human Rights Department in the Southern Transitional Council Lawyer Niran Hassan Souki sent today a written notice to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva over the serious violations committed by the Presidential Protection Forces of the Yemeni government against civilian citizens in the city of Aden, during the period from 28 to 30 January and its attempts to undermine the security and stability of the city.

  The representative of the STC Human Rights Department Abdul Rahman Al-Musibli handed over today the notice to Mr. Mohamed Ali Nsour, director of the Middle East and North Africa division of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The notice indicated the excessive use of force including the firing of live ammunition at civilian citizens during peaceful demonstrations demanding the government's ouster for the corruption that ruined their living conditions.

  The notice also indicated attempts of the pro-government armed forces to undermine the security and stability of the city and endanger the lives of its citizens, through shelling residential areas, waging campaigns of arbitrary arrests of dozens of citizens, attacking an ambulance and assaulting on press freedom and journalists. The acts led to a number of deaths and injuries, including children.

  Head of the STC Human Rights Department, Lawyer Niran Souki asked the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to consider those serious crimes and to apply the basic principles of justice for victims of crime and abuse of power and not to let perpetrators to go unpunished as stipulated by the international law.

  For his part, Mr. Mohamed Ali Nsour expressed his interest in the written notice, making it clear that a UN delegation of international experts is due to visit the city of Aden on an as of yet undetermined date.