Understanding the Houthi Detention Strategy in Yemen: From Local Control to Global Leverage
Date: Wednesday, Feb 12, 2025
Time: 11:00 AM in Eastern Time | 7:00 PM in Yemen
Join our webinar discussion exploring how the Houthis expanded their arbitrary detention practices to include local staff working in UN agencies and humanitarian organizations. Our discussion will examine the implications for humanitarian aid, peace initiatives, and regional stability in the wake of their FTO redesignation. The panel will address how these developments affect international organizations operating in Yemen and analyze potential paths forward for humanitarian access in the region.
Speakers
Sadeq al-Wesabi
Senior Fellow | Moderator · Washington Center For Yemeni Studies
*Registration required to receive webinar link
Sadeq Al-Wesabi joined WCYS as a Senior Fellow in 2024. Al-Wesabi is a seasoned communication and Media Consultant with extensive experience in journalism and international development agencies. He is a content creator focusing on Yemen’s situation and human rights issues. Previously, Al-Wesabi worked as a Communication Officer for the World Health Organization from 2013 to 2023, covering humanitarian and health crises in Yemen, Iraq, and other emergency settings. Before his WHO tenure, he was a journalist for Yemen Times and a radio presenter for Radio Yemen Times, concentrating on political and human rights matters. Al-Wesabi holds an MA in Media and Broadcast Production from Queen’s University Belfast and a BA in Media and Communications from Sana’a University.
Niku Jafarnia
Yemen & Bahrain Researcher · Human Rights Watch
Niku Jafarnia is the Yemen and Bahrain researcher at Human Rights Watch, where she investigates human rights abuses and violations of international law in both countries, including alleged war crimes, violations of social and economic rights, and cases of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance. She is also currently investigating war crimes in Palestine and Lebanon. She has been working on research and investigations in Yemen since 2018, mainly focused on armed conflict violations, and previously worked with Mwatana for Human Rights and the Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC).
Baraa Shiban
Associate Fellow · Royal United Services Institute
Baraa Shiban is a researcher and political analyst on Yemen and the Gulf. He is a consultant with the London-based human rights group Reprieve. Baraa has extensive knowledge of counter-terrorism policies in the MENA region, with 10 years of experience covering counter-terrorism impacts on local communities in Yemen. Between 2013 and 2014, Baraa served as a member of the Yemeni National Dialogue – the multiparty council tasked to negotiate Yemen’s new constitution. Following the Houthis coup in September 2014, he participated in rounds of negotiations with the Houthi rebels but was forced to go into exile due to his constant criticism of Houthis human rights abuses.
Linda Al Obahi
Senior Political Affairs and Mediation Adviser · Peace Track Initiative (PTI)
Linda Al Obahi is a Senior Political Affairs and Mediation Adviser at Peace Track Initiative (PTI). She is a former Political Advisor at the French Embassy in Yemen during the National Dialogue Conference (NDC) and the Drafting of the New Yemeni Constitution (CDC)- (2013-2014), receiving the Golden Medal of Honor for Foreign Affairs from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in 2015. Linda is leading the WILPF MMFP Yemen project and efforts to update and develop the Feminist Peace Roadmap in Yemen (FPR), promoting women’s involvement in peacebuilding and engaging men toward Feminist Peace while countering militarized masculinities in Yemen.