Houthi Minister Accuses Saleh of Killing Politicians

 A poster bearing the portrait of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and announcing the 35 year anniversary of the establishment of his General People's Congress party is seen on a Sanaa street on August 19, 2017. Mohammed Huwais / AFP
A poster bearing the portrait of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and announcing the 35 year anniversary of the establishment of his General People's Congress party is seen on a Sanaa street on August 19, 2017. Mohammed Huwais / AFP
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Houthi Minister Accuses Saleh of Killing Politicians

 A poster bearing the portrait of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and announcing the 35 year anniversary of the establishment of his General People's Congress party is seen on a Sanaa street on August 19, 2017. Mohammed Huwais / AFP
A poster bearing the portrait of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and announcing the 35 year anniversary of the establishment of his General People's Congress party is seen on a Sanaa street on August 19, 2017. Mohammed Huwais / AFP

A “Houthi” minister in the Sanaa coup government accused on Sunday former president Ali Abdullah Saleh of killing political leaders during his tenure.

Hassan Zaid, who holds the post of minister of Youth and Sports within the illegitimate Houthi government in Sanaa, wrote on his Facebook account on Sunday that “impertinence and cruelty that can reach the level of atrocity is embodied in the refusal of head of the General People's Congress party to uncover the fate of the forced hidden Nasserite leaders.”

Zaid threatened the former president of opening the file of “illicit gains.”

The Houthi minister said he would not stop digging in the files of corruption and assassinations, the smuggling of weapons, in addition to giving up state lands.

In August, a war of words between the two previous allies, Houthi and Saleh’s supporters, exploded into a military confrontation when militants believed to be linked to Saleh’s Republican Guards fired at a Houthi military position in the Joulat al-Misbaha where the two groups exchanged fires in the presence of a high-security deployment.
Reports said the clashes erupted after Houthi fighters tried to set up a security checkpoint near the home of Saleh in Sana’a.

Last August, Zaid also confessed that, around two years ago, he had asked the head of the so-called Supreme Political Council, Saleh al-Samad, to assassinate President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi and place him under house arrest in the Yemeni capital.

He also revealed that Saleh was granting military ranks to Qaeda militants and accused the former president of using them to assassinate academics, military officials and security leaders.

“The former regime of Saleh was granting military grades and was hiring hundreds of guards to protect armed bandits and Qaeda members who were later tasked to kill patriots from the military, security and academic leadership,” he said.



Lebanon Decides to Extradite Al-Qaradawi to the UAE

 Abdel Rahman Al-Qaradawi (X)
 Abdel Rahman Al-Qaradawi (X)
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Lebanon Decides to Extradite Al-Qaradawi to the UAE

 Abdel Rahman Al-Qaradawi (X)
 Abdel Rahman Al-Qaradawi (X)

The Lebanese government has decided to extradite Egyptian activist Abdel Rahman Al-Qaradawi, son of the late cleric Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following an extradition request from Emirati authorities.
The decision is based on an arrest warrant issued by the Arab Interior Ministers Council due to a video recorded by Al-Qaradawi during a visit to the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, in which he criticized several Arab countries.
The decision came shortly after Lebanese Justice Minister Henry Khoury submitted a decree to the Council of Ministers authorizing the extradition. According to sources, Türkiye, which had warned Lebanon against handing over Al-Qaradawi, requested prior assurances before his extradition. However, it is believed this decision will not lead to a political or diplomatic crisis between Beirut and Ankara.
The move has raised questions about why Lebanon agreed to extradite the activist to the UAE, despite the absence of a judicial agreement for exchanging wanted individuals between the two nations.
A government source clarified that the decision was based on the arrest warrant issued by the Arab Interior Ministers Council, which Lebanon is obligated to honor as a member of the council and a signatory to its agreements. The source also confirmed that Lebanon’s General Security Directorate will coordinate with Emirati authorities to finalize the extradition schedule.
The swift response to the Emirati request is noteworthy. Al-Qaradawi was detained upon arriving in Lebanon through the Masnaa border crossing from Syria on December 29, 2024, in accordance with an Interpol red notice. The notice was based on a five-year prison sentence handed down in absentia by Egyptian courts, which convicted him of charges including “spreading false news, inciting violence and terrorism, and encouraging regime change.”
Efforts by Al-Qaradawi’s family and activists to prevent his extradition to Egypt or the UAE have been unsuccessful. On Tuesday, dozens of protesters, including religious figures from Lebanese Islamic organizations, gathered outside Beirut’s Palace of Justice demanding that he not be extradited and calling for his transfer to Türkiye, where he resides. They warned that they would take legal action against the Lebanese government in international courts if the extradition proceeds.
Al-Qaradawi’s lawyer, Hala Hamza, argued that her client is being held based on a request from Egypt and another from the UAE tied to a now-removed video he posted in Syria. She stated: “There is no legal basis for the UAE’s extradition request,” describing the decision as violating international human rights agreements.
On Sunday, Al-Qaradawi’s family sent an official letter to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urging his immediate intervention to secure the man’s release.