Surviving an acid-burned body, scalded scalp, countless torture scars and plied fingernails, Mounir al-Sharqi’s heart keeps a faint, but resilient pulse. His encounter with the Iran-backed Houthi militia brutality has certainly left its mark etched in pain.
A Yemeni medical laboratory technician, Sharqi’s skin bears traces of electric shocks and cigarette burns.
It never crossed his mind or that of his friends that one day that he would fall victim to Houthi atrocities. They never thought of their hometown in western Dhamar province one day becoming a tragic icon showcasing barbarism exacted by the militias.
By all scales, Houthi crimes have brushed off any sense of human values.
Dhamar locals never saw it coming that the Houthi militias can be full of so much hatred and malice. They were shocked to see Sharqi’s footage when it surfaced on social networking sites.
“This Houthi crime is unprecedented, they are human monsters, with no hearts or feelings—Sharqi was never hostile to anyone,” H.N., a Dhamar resident told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“On the contrary, he was a role model when it comes to youth perseverance, but this group lacks values and ethics, they are stripped from the simplest sense of pride and morals known to Yemenis,” he added.
According to villagers, about a year ago Sharqi suddenly disappeared without a trace. His parents were unable to communicate with or locate him.
His fate was unknown, leaving him the subject of speculation and hope that one day he would return home.
A year later, Sharqi’s beaten body appeared on the sidewalk, his skin burned and soul exhausted.
He began his career after graduating in vocational training in medical laboratories and started working in a clinic owned by one of his relatives in the capital Sanaa, his close associates said.
He then relocated to Ibb province in hopes of working in one of the city's hospitals, where he was kidnapped by the Houthis.
Sharqi’s friends and relatives and Yemeni rights activists said he disappeared sometime in June 2017.
They also recounted that the reason behind the kidnapping was his refusal to heed Houthi calls to join their ranks.
The militias intended for Sharqi to work among medical teams in providing medical care for those wounded in battle on the West front.
A press conference was held on Saturday in Marib, 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Houthi-held Sanaa, uncovering in detail the Houthi torture inflicted against Sharqi.
In their press statement on the victim, Marib governor Abedrabbo Meftah and the attending physician Dr. Mohammed Fazii, recounted Sharqi’s case.
“Sharqi arrived at the medical center with a body covered in burn marks, maggots in untreated scar tissue over multiple parts of his body,” said Dr.Fazii.
