The 56 year old retired military officer, Ahmed Bamuallim was elected to Yemen's National Parliament in 1997, and served as a deputy for the Yemen Congregation for Reform (التجمع اليمني للإصلاح) until 2003. During this period he was also a member of the Parliamentary Defense and Security Commission.

On 15 April 2009, Mr Bamuallim, in the company of his son, delivered himself to the regional military headquarters following a formal summons by telephone regarding his retirement which he had received by telephone. He was arrested and detained for 24 hours before being transferred to the Military Intelligence prison in Sana'a where he was secretly detained incommunicado in a subterranean prison cell for over a month. He was eventually transferred to the regular Military prison where he was detained between June 2009 and 19 July 2009, when he was finally transferred to Sana's central prison where he remains unto this day.

On 17 October 2009, he appeared in front of the State Security Court during which he refused to speak unless a lawyer was present. During the initial hearing he was mainly criticized for his involvement in the "Southern Movement" and accused of having violated national integrity and promoting dissension.

Various hearings were to follow, the last of which took place on 26 December 2009, however no decision have yet been made and his trial has been postponed until 23 March 2010.

Southern Yemen has been the scene of several disturbances since August 2007, when former soldiers of the ex-People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, sent home after the 1994 civil war, protested against the inferiority of their pension plans as compared to the that of soldiers from the north. They ultimately formed an informal coalition, now known as the "Southern Movement" which brings together not only political groups and other organisations, but individuals such as Ahmed Bamuallim, in an effort to peacefully challenge these injustices.

Bamuallim Ahmed has been detained for almost a year now, and after more than a month in solitary confinement, he is still unable to enjoy the fundamental guarantees of a fair trial. His imprisonment was undoubtedly motivated by the peaceful expression of his political opinions.

Yemen was absent during the Committee against Torture's recent periodic review on Yemen in November 2009. In its provisional concluding observations, the Committee recommended the "immediate implementation of effective measures to ensure that all inmates receive all the fundamental guarantees from the outset of their detention, in particular, they must exercise the right to prompt access to counsel and independent medical examination; that they should be allowed to inform their relatives of their detention; and that they should be informed of their rights at the time of detention and of the charges against them; they should also appear before a judge within the period of time compliant with international standards."