Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
Over the past few days, the Houthis have launched an arrest campaign targeting mosque imams in the Hubaysh district and closed a mosque in the Ash-Sha’ir district of Ibb Governorate (central Yemen) over the performance of Tarawih prayers.
Local sources reported that Houthi vehicles carried out a series of arrests yesterday evening targeting several imams in the Bani Shabib sub-district of Hubaysh. They also closed the Great Mosque in Al-Radai, the administrative center of the Ash-Sha’ir district.
According to the sources, the Houthis arrested:
- Ukasha Abdullah (Al-Qatba village)
- Jamal Al-Arumi (Al-Ruqaiya village)
- Youssef Al-Fayeq (Al-Sahla village)
- Haitham Al-Jeibali (Al-Sahla village)
All those detained are students of the Salafi Imam Abdulaziz al-Bura’i, who manages an educational center in the “Mafraq Hubaysh” area.
Sources stated that the Houthis justified the arrests of the four imams by citing a lack of coordination with their affiliated Endowment (Awqaf) Office in the district. However, activists described these justifications as inaccurate, asserting that the true objective is to prevent citizens from performing Tarawih prayers during Ramadan.
