Al Houthi leader Sultan Zaben dies in mysterious circumstances
Notorious leader was placed on UN Security Council sanctions list for torturing women
Abu Dhabi: The Al Houthi militia announced on Monday a prominent security leader, , Brigadier Sultan Zaben, had died in mysterious circumstances.
The Iran-backed militias mourned the death of Brigadier General Sultan Saleh Zaben, Director General of Criminal Investigation, who died following a terminal disease, without disclosing the circumstances and causes of his death.
Sultan Zaben, who hails from the Razih district in Saada governorate, the stronghold of the Al Houthis, in northern Yemen, was one of the top security officials of the militia involved in horrific violations against the kidnapped women in the militia’s prisons in Sana’a.
Zaben played a prominent role in campaigns of intimidation, systematic arrests, detention, torture and sexual violence against kidnapped Yemeni women.
His nickname was “Abu Saqr,” and he was trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Sultan Zaben was notorious for torturing detained women, as well as using the Al Houthi women’s militia “Zainabiyat”, which he commanded, in espionage and surveillance operations.
Human rights reports stated that Sultan Zaben transformed civilian buildings in Sana’a into secret prisons for kidnapped women, in addition to official prisons, such as the Central Prison, Criminal Investigation and Political Security headquarters.