A/HRC/45/CRP.7 journalists and human rights defenders outlined in Section G. In other cases, arbitrary detentions involved discrimination of various forms, including discrimination on the basis of religious beliefs, race and/or gender. 157. Political considerations have also been key motivating factors, with persons being detained on the basis of their perceived affiliation with an opposing party. Examples of this type of arbitrary detention include cases investigated by the Group involving civilians detained at the Ma’rib Political Security Prison between 2016 and 2020. These civilians were initially detained by Government-affiliated forces on or just after entry to Ma’rib, at the Passport Department, or elsewhere, having travelled to the area from Houthi-controlled areas or from abroad. They were detained under accusations of being affiliated with the Houthis, because they had family names associated with the Houthis, or on the basis they were from northern Yemen. Detainees were kept incommunicado for long periods, without formal charges or legal proceedings. Some remained incommunicado for the entire length of their detention of two to three years. 158. In some cases investigated by the Group, persons were held for the specific purpose of prisoner exchange deals. For instance, the Government of Yemen authorities at Ma’rib Political Security Prison informed detainees they would only release them as part of a prisoner exchange with the Houthis. This was regardless of whether the individual was affiliated with the Houthis or not. One detainee described a system by which men and boys were divided up by perceived affiliation, and then assigned the number of prisoners they were worth in exchange. Almost all the former detainees from this facility interviewed by the Group were released in such prisoner exchanges.220 Another example is the case of five journalists (whose case is discussed in Section H on Administration of Justice, para 344) being detained in Sana’a since 2015, whose release was ordered on 11 April 2020, but who remain in detention. Their legal representative informed the Group that their release was conditional upon the conclusion of a prisoner exchange deal. 159. The Group found that the Houthis and their affiliates repeatedly demanded payments from the families of detainees to help them locate or visit their loved ones and to obtain their release, often to no avail. The Group also received credible reports that two male relatives of civilian detainees killed in the airstrike on the Dhamar Community College were arbitrarily arrested and detained for up to two days by the de-facto authorities while they were searching for information about the fate of their loved ones in the airstrike. The Group also confirmed that the Dhamar Community College was used to conduct interrogations of male civilians who had been arbitrarily arrested and detained without charges. Many were brought in from other detention facilities, including Al-Saleh detention facility in Ta‘izz. (b) Enforced Disappearance 160. The Group of Experts continues to be concerned about the number of individuals subjected to enforced disappearance by parties to the conflict. As one interviewee stated to the Group: “In the beginning of [the] kidnapping, I suffered from anxiety, fear, sadness, crying, and despair. It was a real disaster that had befallen us. I swear each day felt like a year” – Son of a disappeared221 (i) By the Government of Yemen and affiliated actors – in Ta‘izz 161. The Group verified eight cases of enforced disappearance of men by the Ta‘izz Axis of the Government of Yemen and actors affiliated to the Islah Party. Individuals had been disappeared for periods ranging from several months to more than four years, that is, since early on in the conflict. In addition, torture and other-ill treatment including sexual violence has occurred in cases the Group documented. Sometimes, families learned of the fate and whereabouts of their loved one only several months after they died.222 220 Confidential sources on file. Confidential source on file. 222 Confidential source on file. 221 45