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Yahia Badreddin Leading Yemeni Houthi Coup from Germany’s Berlin | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Yahia al-Houthi in his residence in Bonn, Gremany


Bonn-Berlin- Yahia Badreddin al-Houthi, has made his second appearance in the German city Bonn early June after having left Germany for Yemen in 2013. Yahia – labeled a leader to both the Houthi and Ansarullah movements- had returned secretly to Bonn before officially announcing his presence in Germany on the state national television.

His official appearance was made after he had met with Iranian ambassador to Berlin Ali Majidi, who had given the controversial Houthi figure the green light to make an official appearance, well-informed diplomatic sources reported.

The Houthi renegade leader, accused for many terror cases and wanted for war crimes, had clear precedencies in which he violates German protection and political asylum law.

What is more confounding is that Yahia, far from a warranted political refugee, had held confidential meetings with Iranian diplomats and officials in Bonn and Berlin.

How could it possibly be that German authority had granted permission for Yahia to enter German territory knowingly that he had violated the law? How is it that Yahia had come to meet with senior officials at the German parliament and foreign ministry?

When appearing on the Germen state broadcasting channel, Yahia al-Houthi carried out the Yemeni coup propaganda, and fiercely attacked and criticized the Saudi-led Arab coalition for Yemen.

The Houthi leader also discussed the topic on peace talks underway in Kuwait, saying that he expects no results to be found, according to his June 29 interview. Moreover, Yahia said that the insurgency and Houthi rebels will continue to refuse handing in arms to Yemeni government authorities, before settling matters conclusively at the Kuwait-held negotiations.

After Yahia al-Houthi had met with German officials in Berlin, the Houthi insurgency militia group released a German captive previously held in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, according to well-informed sources located in Germany.

The German man held in Yemen has been freed with the help of Oman mediation and was flown to the sultanate on Tuesday, the official ONA state news agency reported.

Authorities in Germany had approached Oman to negotiate the release of the man from the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, “for humanitarian reasons”, it said.

The released captive remains unidentified, as do the circumstances of his detention.

The German captive was reportedly airlifted from Sanaa to Muscat on an Omani air force plane pending his return home, said ONA.

Yemen has been at war since September 2014, when Iran-backed Houthi rebels and their allies drove the government out of Sanaa and much of the country’s north.

Yahia al-Houthi had partaken in the Yemeni national dialogue, however, after the gulf-led operation to free Yemen from Houthi expansive insurgency, operation Decisive Strom, all Houthi leaderships including Yahia kept low profile for security reasons.