Yahia Badreddin al-Houthi ( ar, يحيى بدر الدين الحوثي; born 1961) is the political leader of the Zaidi rebels, known as the

Houthis The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...

, who are fighting against the government of

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

. He is a brother of current Houthi leader Abdul-Malik, late Houthi leader

Hussein Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", "h ...

, Muhammad, Ibrahim, Abdulkhalik, and Abdul-Karim. al-Houthi cosigned a letter to the Yemeni government with Abdullah al-Ruzami, the rebels' military leader, in May 2005 offering an end to the uprising if the government would send emissaries or ended the military campaign against the rebels. "But if injustice continues with killing, destroying, and imprisonment... then the trouble will not be solved, but will become more complicated and the gap will become even wider." He was a Yemeni lawmaker but was forced to flee to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

after the Yemeni government lifted his parliamentary immunity to try him for his involvement in the

Houthi rebellion The Houthi insurgency in Yemen, also known as the Houthi rebellion, the Sa'dah War, or the Sa'dah conflict, was a rebellion, military rebellion pitting Zaidiyyah, Zaidi Shia Islam, Shia Houthis (though the movement also includes Sunni Islam, Sun ...

. He was then tried in absentia. On 5 February 2010, he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. He remained in Germany until he returned to Yemen in 2013. When the Supreme Council for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (SCMCHA) proposed a 2 percent tax on humanitarian aid, al-Houthi spoke out against SCMHCA chairman Ahmed Hamid, calling him and the organization "illegitimate" and criticizing how they handle international aid.

References

Yemeni Zaydis Living people Houthi members 1965 births Members of the House of Representatives (Yemen) People from Saada Governorate Yemeni expatriates in Germany {{MEast-mil-bio-stub