Dr. Osama Hammoud Al-Shabami is a Yemeni academic and businessman from Sana’a. He was arrested in mid-July 2021 in the capital by security forces, who reportedly detained him without bringing any specific charges and imposed restrictions on his family’s visits. At the time of his arrest he worked as an engineer and lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering at Sana’a University and was described by reliable local sources as a well-liked public figure with no political inclinations. The circumstances of Al-Shabami’s arrest fit a broader pattern of arbitrary detentions carried out by de facto authorities in Sana’a against academics, civil society actors and professionals with no known political activity, often involving prolonged detention without charge, lack of access to legal counsel, intimidation of families and restrictions on communication.