Thirty-one Yemeni fishermen returned on Thursday to the Al-Salif fish landing center in Hodeidah province after being detained for several days by Eritrean naval authorities while fishing in the Red Sea.
During their reception, Rami Maqsharah, Director of al-Salif Fish Landing Center, strongly condemned the repeated crimes and violations carried out by Eritrean authorities against unarmed Yemeni fishermen, calling them as a blatant violation of international and humanitarian law and a direct assault on Yemen’s sovereignty .
He called on the international community to break its silence, condemn the violations, pressure Eritrea to halt such practices, and secure the immediate release of Yemeni fishermen still held in Eritrean detention.
He urged international organizations to press for an end to the repeated detentions of Yemeni fishermen and to seek the release of others still held in Eritrea.
According to the fishermen, they were intercepted by an Eritrean naval patrol, transferred to an Eritrean-controlled island, and subjected to verbal abuse and mistreatment during detention. Authorities allegedly confiscated one fishing vessel, personal belongings, equipment, and part of the fishermen’s catch.
During the reception, the director of the Al-Salif Fish Landing Center provided the fishermen with symbolic financial assistance, allocated by the General Authority for Red Sea Fisheries, to help them return to their home areas and ease the damages caused by the attack.
The Red Sea Fisheries Authority said it would continue pursuing the case and defending the rights of Yemeni fishermen.
