UAE-backed paramilitary forces abduct political commentator in southwestern Yemen 

Washington, D.C., December 2, 2025 — The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the immediate release of political commentator Adel al-Nazili, who rights groups and a family member say was abducted on November 18 from his home in Al-Mokha, southwestern Yemen, by the National Resistance Forces (NRF), paramilitary forces loyal to the internationally-recognised government and backed by the United Arab Emirates. 

Al-Nazili, who was previously held by pro-government forces in October 2024 and has written for the Al-Mokha-based outlet News Yemen and the independent media platform Al-Yawm Al-Thamin Foundation, was seized after criticizing the NRF leadership in Facebook posts that accused senior figures of nepotism and running the group as a “family project” rather than a national movement.

“The abduction of Al-Nazili is the latest example of how paramilitary groups in areas under the control of the internationally-recognized government are acting outside the law, targeting journalists without legal justification, aiming to silence them,” said CPJ Chief Programs Officer Carlos Martínez de la Serna. “The IRG should ensure Al-Nazili’s release and hold those responsible accountable.”

The SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties reported that he was being held in “Al-Qanuniya”, a secret detention facility run by the NRF in Al Hudaydah Governorate that is notorious for its poor conditions. According to the family member who requested anonymity for security reasons, Al-Nazili has not been officially charged with any crime.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since 2014, when Iranian-backed Houthi rebels ousted the government from the capital, Sanaa. In 2015, a Saudi-backed coalition intervened to try to restore the IRG. 

The NRF are UAE-aligned paramilitary units established in 2018 and led by Brigadier General Tariq Saleh, who has served on the government’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) since April 2022.

Yemen has long been one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists, where they face killings by multiple actors and systematic repression from warring parties, including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, blocking access to media outlets, and unfair trials that occur with near-total impunity.

CPJ emailed the Yemeni embassy in Washington to ask what had been done in response to Al-Nazili’s abduction but received no immediate response.