Lahj: Two STC leaders detained on charges of smuggling a prisoner involved in murder

The director of the central prison in Lahj Governorate (southern Yemen) and the commander of the Al-Husseini checkpoint (both affiliated with the STC) were taken to prison for investigation on charges of facilitating the escape of a prisoner accused of premeditated murder, amid pressure to release them.

Human rights sources said that the Public Prosecutor for Security, Investigation, and Prisons, Judge Ali al-Hariri, ordered the detention of the director of the central prison in Lahj, Abdul Salam al-Junaidi, and the commander of the al-Husseini checkpoint, a Security Belt commander, Salah al-Wajih, for investigation into their involvement in the escape of a prisoner accused of killing a citizen.

The sources added that the two STC leaders were detained pending investigation into facilitating the escape of prisoner Ali Omar Mohammed Ahmed Al-Yafei, who is accused of killing citizen Radhi Alian.

The sources indicated that there was pressure from influential parties to release the leaders on bail.

Last February, the director of the Central Correctional Facility in Lahj, Abdul Salam Al-Junaidi, filed a complaint with the head of the appeals prosecution in the governorate, alleging that Salah Al-Wajeeh, commander of the Al-Husseini checkpoint in the Tuban district, had smuggled prisoner Ali Omar Mohammed Ahmed out of the central prison in the Sabr area, south of Lahj.

The complaint stated that the notable arrived at the prison building with his companions in an armored vehicle and asked the soldiers stationed at the prison administration to remove the prisoner, who was accused of premeditated murder, under the pretext of speaking to him.

According to the complaint, the notable claimed to the soldiers that he had coordinated in advance with the prison director, and that, given his position as a Security Belt commander in the area, the soldiers complied with his request and escorted the prisoner to the administration gate, from where he smuggled him out.

Al-Junaidi indicated that he had imprisoned the soldiers who had taken the prisoner out and had attempted to contact the dignitary to have him returned, but his attempts were unsuccessful. He called for an investigation into the incident.