A/HRC/42/CRP.1 women who intended to join the gathering as well as female bystanders, around one hundred girls and women in total. The “Zeinabiyyat” started attacking women and girls randomly, using their sticks and Tasers, focusing especially on the neck and back. One “Zeinabiyyat” member was reportedly saying “come, you, mercenary”, “come you, Emiratis”, “come you allies of the enemy.” “They attacked us including my friend, hitting her on the head with a stick. We ran [...] and the Zeinabiyyat followed us and again continued hitting us. They pulled our veils off, which confused us as we tried to put them back on to keep our heads covered, whilst they hit us on the body and head. They were using Tasers to shock us, aiming purposefully for our necks” Young woman who attempted to take part in a demonstration in Sana’a 401. Around 11:00 hrs, between 30 and 50 women were dragged onto buses and driven to a police station in Sana’a where they were locked in rooms. A few female witnesses recall how the “Zeinabiyyat” verbally assaulted them, using offensive language and threats of rape: “we were told ‘you deserve death’, calling us ‘whores’ and threatening to take us to the Sudanese soldiers so they could rape us. We were also told ‘we will send you to our men on the front lines, at least they have more right to you’. We were given lectures on religion. One older woman had diabetes and needed help but it was refused.” Another young adult female recounts, “I heard words I never heard before in my life. I cannot forget that day full of insults.” Agents of the de facto authorities dressed in plain clothes interrogated women individually in a separate room, accusing them of working for the coalition. They were released at the end of the day, after having been held without access to legal counsel, and after signing a statement committing not to take part in protests again, and on the condition of being collected by a male adult. A few women were forced to flee Sana’a following the demonstration, for fear of reprisal against their physical integrity as threats followed after the event.614 402. The de facto authorities’ requirement for a male guardian as a condition of allowing the release of women and girls arrested during protests and women political or human rights activists was apparently designed to humiliate both the arrested female and her husband or father. One former detainee told the Group that she refused to have her “old” husband come and pick her up from the police station, because she felt that it would be insulting for him. She was kept in detention until she negotiated to be picked up by a relative instead.615 Restrictions on peaceful gatherings in “times of war” ‘Do you know the charges against you?’ He said. I said, ‘no, not officially’. He said: ‘you are calling for peace…I said ‘you are joking, surely’. He said ‘no, we are now in times of war...We have to mobilise people to go and fight, so when you speak of peace, you are acting against the state” 616. Man arbitrarily detained and interrogated by de facto authorities for taking part in a conference 403. The Group of Experts documented two incidents that took place in August 2016 617 and in October 2018618 in Sana’a where armed agents of the de facto authorities’ security forces raided peaceful gatherings, including one press conference with around 20 participants and one community event hosting around 60 participants. In both cases, all participants were arrested and detained. While in one of the incidents, the participants were released by the end of the day, in the other event, around 11 participants (women and men) were held for a longer period of time, up to one month for some, without charges. During their interrogations, they were asked about their motives for organizing such events and in 614 Confidential Sources on File. Confidential Sources on File. 616 Confidential Sources on File. 617 Confidential Sources on File. 618 Confidential Sources on File. 615 98