The Iran-backed Houthi militias released on Monday former culture minister Khaled al-Ruweishan, a day after he was abducted from his home, his lawyer said, according to The Associated Press.
Security officials in Sanaa said leaders of the Khawlan tribe, to which al-Ruweishan belongs, secured his release. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
His abduction had sparked widespread outrage in Yemen.
The Houthis had stormed his Sanaa house at dawn, seizing personal papers and documents. He was then taken to an undisclosed location, said his lawyer, Waddah Qutaish.
Ruweishan had been critical of the Houthis for detaining thousands of Yemenis, including rights advocates, during the country’s conflict. He enjoys more than 400,000 followers on Facebook. His last post criticized the Houthis for their failure to address recent flooding in Sanaa.
Born in Sanaa in 1962, al-Ruweishan served as culture minister in 2006 in the government of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. He did not leave Sanaa in 2014 when the Houthis staged their coup against the legitimacy.
The Houthis have detained scores of activists, journalists and lawyers. Rights groups have documented dozens of cases of forced disappearances and arbitrary arrests, and say detainees have been tortured to death inside Houthi-run facilities.
Earlier this month, a court run by the Houthis sentenced four journalists to death after their conviction on spying charges.
The four were among a group of 10 journalists detained by the Houthis and accused of “collaborating with the enemy,” in reference to the Saudi-led Arab coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen.
