A/HRC/42/17 C. 1. Arbitrary killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment De facto authorities 57. The Group of Experts investigated numerous cases of arbitrary killings, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and ill-treatment by the de facto authorities, including in Ta’izz, Al-Hudaydah, Sana’a and Hajjah. The de facto authorities targeted men, women and boys engaged in activities perceived as opposed to or not endorsing their war efforts, further tightening their authoritarian grip. Opposition was interpreted in the broadest terms, not only including support to a rival political party but also posting critical statements on social media, engaging on human rights-related issues or questioning a local education policy. Certain families were apparently targeted, including following fighting in Hajjah in early 2019. Migrants, individuals associated with the Al-Islah party, and members of the General People’s Congress (particularly after the killing of former President Saleh) were also targeted. 58. The Group of Experts investigated the killing of former President Saleh in early December 2017 and the targeting of persons affiliated with his political party, the General People’s Congress, in the context of the break-up of the alliance with the Houthis. The Group documented human rights violations carried out by the Houthis against Saleh supporters. In one case, the Houthis killed a senior member of the party and two of his family members. In another, the de facto authorities arbitrarily detained tens of women leading protests against Saleh’s killing and requesting the release of the body. Owing to the political tensions surrounding the killing of Saleh, the lack of access and the consequential difficulties in gathering evidence thereon, it has not been possible for the Group to reach a conclusion as to the exact circumstances of his death. 59. The de facto authorities continued to detain individuals arbitrarily. Incommunicado detention and solitary confinement for long periods, frequent transfers between facilities and the use of secret facilities kept detainees out of the reach of their families, any legal protection and judicial oversight. In the few cases where the de facto authorities brought charges against detainees, the Group of Experts observed consistent failures to provide access to legal representation and to inform detainees about charges. It also documented forced confessions, including through torture. In many cases, relatives reported that they had been required to pay money for information on the whereabouts of detainees, for promises of their release, or to see or retrieve the body of a detainee who had died in custody. 60. In Sana’a, detainees were moved between secret facilities and former government detention facilities run by “supervisors” from Houthi-affiliated popular committees. The Group of Experts verified enforced disappearances in 41 cases it investigated in Sana’a, 13 cases in Al-Hudaydah, six cases in Ta’izz and four cases in Hajjah. Some of the victims remained disappeared at the time of writing. 61. Torture and ill-treatment of women and men by the de facto authorities continued to be reported in detention facilities throughout areas under their control. Victims and witnesses described the use of punching, kicking, beating with metal bars, sticks and guns, whipping with electric cables and electric shock, hanging from the ceiling for hours, and nail removal. Relatives of several detainees received the dead body of the victim bearing clear signs of torture. 62. The Group of Experts investigated allegations of sexual violence perpetrated by agents of the de facto authorities from 2016 to 2019 in Political Security Organization, National Security Bureau and other facilities in Sana’a and Ibb. Detainees described the use of rape and sexual assault, including direct assault on genitals (hanging objects and beating), forced nudity and threats of rape, with the aim of humiliating them as part of interrogation and torture techniques. The Group verified 12 cases of sexual violence on five women, six men and a 17-year-old boy. 63. The Group of Experts has reasonable grounds to believe that the de facto authorities have violated the right to liberty and security of person through enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detention, including the violation of fair trial rights, as well as sexual 11