On December 15, 2024, human rights sources reported that the Iran-aligned Houthi group, classified as a terrorist organization by several countries, has released political activists detained in Ibb province, Yemen, for celebrating the Yemeni Revolution's anniversary in September.

Eshraq Al-Maqtari, a human rights activist and member of the National Commission to Investigate Allegations of Human Rights Violations in Yemen, stated that the release of activists Raddad Al-Hudhayfi and Mohammed Omar Al-Kathiri was facilitated through community mediation.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Al-Maqtari noted that the two activists were detained due to their participation in the September 26 celebrations and their expressions of opinion. She added that many others from Ibb province remain imprisoned, including journalist Mohammed Al-Miyahi, and urged that the plight of these individuals should not be overlooked.

Local sources indicated that the recent upheaval in Syria prompted the Houthis to release Al-Kathiri and Al-Hudhayfi. Mediation efforts by leaders of the pro-Houthi General People's Congress had previously stalled due to the group's intelligence services' rigid stance on the September detainees.

Following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, the Houthis reportedly began arranging the release of certain detainees. They have tasked their appointed governors with overseeing these releases, ensuring that freed individuals would commit to refraining from celebrating the overthrow of the imamate or raising the national flag. This strategy appears aimed at mitigating public discontent and improving the group's image, according to the London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.

The Houthis seem to be attempting to avoid a fate similar to that of Assad, amid significant public engagement with events in Syria and rising calls for a similar scenario to unfold in Sana'a, especially regarding the grim situation of civilian detainees facing severe torture in Houthi prisons.