Prison Time in Sana'a

Prison Time in Sana'a tells the story of Dr Abdulkader Al-Guneid’s harrowing experience inside jail in Yemen’s capital shortly after it was taken over by Houthi rebels.

In his hometown of Taiz, Al-Guneid had been an outspoken figure on Yemeni politics as long ago as the 1980s when he served as mayor of Taiz  He subsequently became a prominent commentator on the 2014 coup by the Houthi movement and loyalists of ex-President Saleh. His social media blogs and interviews were read around the world and attracted a global following from an audience anxious to hear an explanation of the conflict. Ultimately, his activism placed him in the movement’s crosshairs, leading to his abduction on 5 August 2015 and incarceration in a Houthi jail in Sana'a.

For the next 300 days, Al-Guneid shared his time with American hostages, Houthi fighters, Al Qaeda militants and ordinary Yemenis caught up in the conflict. His abduction attracted international attention, as academics, journalists and politicians from around the world called for his release. With Saudi airstrikes pounding the city and sharing his cramped cell a colorful cast of fellow inmates, Al-Guneid became the unofficial prison doctor, spending his time treating illnesses and raising spirits.

Following his release, Al-Guneid wrote about his experience from exile in Canada. Initially typing his entire account on his mobile phone, his story has since been distilled into a deeply personal account experiences which offer a candid perspective on the Yemen crisis.

His story is in two parts. Following on from his personal account of his incarceration, Al-Guneid shares his thoughts on the background of the rising, introducing us to the main protagonists in the fractured political landscape of Yemen.

Through an eyewitness account of the insurgency, as well as fascinating insights into fragmentation, doubt and paranoia within the Houthi movement, Prison Time in Sana'a is a remarkable chronicle of events. It comes at a critical juncture for Yemen. Military escalation and COVID-19 have put the beleaguered nation on the brink of disaster while the conflict is also threatening to spill across the entire region as one of the most incendiary theatres in the in the proxy struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia.