Al-Mukalla: Yemen's Houthi militia has rejected the appeal of Abdul Wahab Qatran, a prominent legal activist released from prison, to go abroad for medical treatment.
Katran's son Mohammed told Arab News on Monday that the Houthis rejected his father's request to travel to Egypt for treatment of ailments he developed while in prison.
The Houthis released Judge Katran in June after six months in a security and intelligence facility accused of spreading disinformation about their militia and its commanders, inciting people against them and accusing Houthi leaders of corruption.
Mohammed said his father needed urgent medical attention for blood pressure, skin and eye problems.
After his release, Qatran alleged that the Houthis forcibly detained him in Sanaa's security and intelligence prison, looted his home, documents, and gadgets, and denied him medical care, clean water, and adequate food.
In a post on his new Facebook page this week, Katran said a doctor in Sana'a told him he may have been suffering from scabies after experiencing extreme itching and red rashes on his skin while bathing in dark and rusty water at the Houthi detention facility. .
“After half a year in their cell, stripped of my property and stripped of my rights, all that was left was this Facebook profile, and I was itching!” Qatran is on Facebook.
Katran's post drew hundreds of comments from Yemenis who expressed sympathy for him, wished him a speedy recovery and urged the Houthis to enable him to receive better treatment abroad.
Katran also posted a 14-page report by Houtis investigators on Sunday, charging him with more than 40 charges, including urging people to revolt against the militia, accusing the Houthis of enrichment and corruption, expressing sympathy for Yemeni activists abused by the Houthis, sharing Facebook. Posts by Houthi critics, criticizing the Houthis for attacking ships in the Red Sea, praying for and expressing support for the late former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.