Mr. Muftah was arrested by Yemeni intelligence in Sana'a without due procedures. Mr. Muhammad Ahmad Ahmad Muftah was born in 1967, in the village of Bait Muftah at the outskirts of Alhaima in Sana'a governorate.

Mr., Muftah resides in the capital Sana'a and heads the council of "Alhaq" party, which is an opposition political movement renowned in Yemen for its peaceful and moderate stance. Moreover, Mr. Muftah is well-known Zaidi Yemeni religious figure.

The Zaidis were the subject of a large-scale wave of arrests before and after the crisis of S'ada province, especially during Jan-2007. During this tragic crisis, tens of people were killed as a result of the armed conflict between law-enforcement forces and the supporters of Hussein Alhothi who was leading an anti-U.S dissident movement; Alhothi was eventually killed in Sep-2004.

Some sources pointed out that more than a thousand people were arrested before, during and after that crisis. Some are still under arrest for almost two years without due legal process.

Mr. Muftah was invited on the 27th of Dec-2007 to participate in Yemenite Al-Ghader festival; the activity took place in the area of Hateresh-Bani Husshaish near Sana'a where Mr.Muftah gave a speech urging the citizens  to commit to peaceful struggle and the propagate  such commitment. Moreover, he condemned the practice of illegal arms ownership and brandishing. In addition, he demanded that no firearms shooting take place during the festival as a condition for his participation. He ended his talk by urging the authorities to allow freedom of expression and to give all citizens (Muslims and non Muslims) the freedom of religious practice without discrimination.

He was arrested on his way back from the festival when a vehicle full of soldiers belonging to central intelligence obstructed him in the afternoon of Dec 27 and tried to beat him up prior to his arrest; however, some local police officers prevented them and were injured during the brawl. Eventually, he was taken to the central intelligence barracks in the Rawda district near Sana'a International Airport where he was kept under arrest until January 8th, 2008.

Despite his family's efforts, the intelligence department refused to release him or provide any information about his welfare or concerning his arrest. Furthermore, Sana'a court, upon the appeal of Mr. Muftah's family, officially demanded the intelligence department to hand over Mr. Muftah to the Attorney General in case there was a legal ground for trying him but the prison's administration refused to comply with the court's order.

The fact that Mr. Muftah had not been legally charged reinforces the belief that his arrest is politically motivated, as a punishment for his participation in the said festival and his peaceful political stance. His family, therefore, is not aware of legal grounds of his arrest, the duration of his arrest, nor the outcome of this incident. Also, his family fears that he will be tortured or abused during arrest. Needless to say, his covert arrest without due process is considered abusive and is in clear violation of local legal standards and respective international standards stated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

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