Adel Al-Nazili is a Yemeni political commentator who 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, according to press freedom and human rightsorganizations and a family member who wished to remain anonymous.
Al-Nazili, who was previously detained in October 2024 and has published articles in the Al-Mokha-based outlet News Yemen and the independent media platform Al-Yawm Al-Thamin Foundation, was taken to a detention facility known as “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, Al-Nazili has not been officially charged with any crime.
The abduction is believed to be linked to posts Al-Nazili published on his Facebook account, in which he criticized the leadership of the NRF, accusing it of pursuing a “family project” rather than a national one.
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 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.
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, blockingaccess to media outlets, and unfair trials occur with near-total impunity.
CPJ emailed the Yemeni embassy in Washington for an update on Al-Nazili’s case but received no response.
On December 24, 2025, Al-Nazili was released from Al-Qanuniya prison.