A/HRC/42/CRP.1 in 2018 and 2019.607 Victims requested that information related to their cases remain confidential for fear of reprisals as they still live in areas under control of the de facto authorities. This request speaks to the climate of fear that activists and human rights defenders face in Sana’a today. 396. In this coercive environment where dissent is not tolerated, defence lawyers representing political prisoners have also felt at risk in the legitimate exercise of their functions. In 2016, one lawyer was arrested and detained for two months while he took part in a demonstration requesting the release of arbitrarily detained persons in the General Directorate of the Criminal Investigation in Sana’a. On 6 April 2019, one of the lawyers for the 36 detainees whose case is detailed below in the section on fair trial rights was arrested in court for passing a pen to his client at the end of the trial. He was investigated for 24 hours and accused of aiding attempted murder inside the prison.608 397. A national women’s organization that advocates for the release of detainees who are arbitrarily held or disappeared has also suffered from instances of harassment and arbitrary arrest. One of its founders was arbitrarily arrested several times in the first years after the organization started its work, and in 2018, female activists organizing rallies for the organization were reportedly intimidated by unidentified men in civilian clothes, who harassed them during their activities or followed them before joining an activity. They also cancelled their public protests on more than one occasion after they were warned about imminent raids by Houthi security and feared being arrested. 398. Since late 2016, there have been reports of peaceful gatherings being dispersed by force, mainly gatherings of women including the GPC women-led protests, that took place in December 2017 and March 2018609 and that were violently suppressed by a Houthi female security force, referred to as the “Zeinabiyyat.” The so-called “Zeinabiyyat” is a female Houthi security force that was reportedly constituted to deal exclusively with women and girls,610 as male agents of the security forces were not able to confront or arrest women openly in light of the conservative context. Women and girls had started playing a leading role in demonstrations in Sana’a because they felt that their role in Yemeni society would afford them better protection against human rights violations than men and boys; the “Zeinabiyyat” was formed and used to combat such actions. Excessive use of force against women at a peaceful gathering, 6 October 2018 399. On 6 October 2018, a peaceful gathering611 was organized by young women activists through social media, demanding an end to the continuing deterioration of the socioeconomic situation of the war-torn country. The organizers specifically called for female participation, due to the general fear that men would be more at risk of physical abuse or arrests, as witnessed in previous demonstrations.612 That morning, there was a large deployment of armed Houthi male and female personnel and around 40 buses were parked around Tahrir square where the demonstration was supposed to take place. The “Zeinabiyyat” impeded demonstrators’ access to the square and randomly arrested male and female demonstrators as well as bystanders. One male journalist was randomly detained with tens of other persons, and transferred to a local police station. He remained in custody as of the time of writing. 613 400. At the same time, outside Sana’a University, armed Houthi men and around 100 ‘Zeinabiyyat’ carrying Tasers, sticks and knives were deployed. One witness reported they also had pistols and rifles. They violently searched students at random, including girls and 607 Confidential Sources on File. Confidential Sources on File. 609 For further details on this case, see Chapter Life in areas under control of the de facto authorities, section on Targeting of General People’s Congress (GPC) Affiliates 2017-2019. 610 For further details, see chapter on gender, section on the Impact of the Conflict on Gender Norms. 611 Confidential Sources on File. 612 For further details on this case, see Chapter Life in areas under control of the de facto authorities, section on Targeting of General People’s Congress (GPC) Affiliates 2017-2019. 613 Confidential Sources on File. 608 97