A/HRC/42/17 D. Violations of fundamental freedoms 69. The Group of Experts found that the Government of Yemen, the coalition and the de facto authorities continued to place severe restrictions on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, in violation of international human rights law. In areas controlled by the de facto authorities, the increased harassment of any perceived dissent has included restrictions on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, resulting in an environment resembling a police State, where people live in fear and exercise self-censorship. The further consolidation of power by the security forces backed by the United Arab Emirates in Aden and the South included widespread targeting of dissidents, which forced many to flee or to go into hiding. 70. Government forces, including forces backed by the United Arab Emirates, and the de facto authorities continued to arbitrarily detain, threaten and otherwise target individuals who openly questioned or criticized them, including political opponents, journalists, human rights defenders and religious leaders. For example, as at the time of writing, at least 13 journalists and media workers remained in detention in Sana’a for charges relating to their work. 71. The Government of Yemen and forces backed by the United Arab Emirates prevented journalists and human rights organizations from operating freely in Aden and along the west coast, the coalition continued to deny them access to United Nations flights, while the de facto authorities obstructed their free access to areas under their control. Investigations into some allegations of restrictions on freedom of movement imposed by parties to the conflict had not been completed at the time of writing. 72. Women human rights defenders, journalists and activists throughout Yemen continued to face gender-based persecution, and to be targeted by all sides as a consequence of their work. The Group of Experts documented 40 such cases, with many women still facing simultaneous threats from all sides. 73. There are also reasonable grounds to believe that the right to freedom of religion or belief has been violated in Yemen. The de facto authorities continued to persecute Baha’is on the basis of their belief, including by detaining and charging them with apostasy, openly deriding and demonizing the Baha’i faith in legal filings, issuing death sentences and threatening their supporters. E. Gender-based violence 74. In 2018 and 2019, new oppressive gender norms have proliferated, and women and girls are further marginalized under the control and coercion of the parties to the conflict. Society in Yemen was already patriarchal before the conflict, and many women and girls, particularly from minority or rural communities, lived in a profoundly unequal and dangerous situation. The conflict has exacerbated that situation, and the parties have exploited gender norms to commit violations or to worsen the impact of such violations. The limited support against gender-based violence afforded by the criminal justice system collapsed in 2019. Law enforcement actors generally posed a direct threat to women’s security, and the parties actively obstructed protection networks, factors that all risk entrenching inequality and gender-based violence even further. Women, children and men remain at serious risk of all forms of gender-based violence, including sexual violence. 75. Members of Security Belt Forces backed by the United Arab Emirates and of Yemeni armed forces continued to commit sexual violence; the Group of Experts verified 37 cases committed between 2016 and 2019 in addition to the violations enumerated above. Members of the 35th Armoured Brigade raped one woman and two boys, attempted to rape a girl, and sexually assaulted a man and a boy. Members of Security Belt Forces raped 18 women, four boys and a girl, attempted to rape a woman, and kidnapped six women. Sources reported that these cases are part of a wider pattern of sexual violence, including the targeting of vulnerable persons from migrant, refugee and Muhamasheen communities. 76. The cases involving the 35th Armoured Brigade described in the previous paragraph were reported in Al-Shamaytayn, a rural district of Ta’izz Governorate where many 13