For the ninth consecutive day, Yemeni journalist and human rights activist Hamza Al-Hammadi remains detained by Kuwaiti authorities since February 7th. He is facing deportation from Kuwait.

Sources close to Al-Hammadi’s family said that the head of the Kuwaiti Association for Human Rights (KAHR), Khaled Al-Ajmi, informed the authorities of Al-Hammadi's location while delivering a lecture at a forum discussing human rights in the Gulf.

In 2015, Al-Ajmi had recruited Al-Hammadi from Yemen as a project manager for KAHR, but after a dispute between the two of them, Al-Hamadi found another job.

Al-Ajmi then proceeded to bully Al-Hammadi, taking advantage of his vulnerability as a foreign worker, according to a relative of Al-Hammadi, who said that the former boss used Kuwait’s “Sponsorship Law" to impose restrictions on Al-Hammadi, including informing against him for the purpose of deportation.

In addition to KAHR, Al-Ajmi owns construction companies for which he recruits employees from many countries. According to Kuwaiti law, the authorities will have to deport Al-Hammadi unless Al-Ajmi drops his case against Al-Hammadi.

In the meantime, Yemeni activists have appealed to the Kuwaiti authorities to release the journalist and prevent his deporation to Yemen, where he would be exposed to danger due to the war there.

Almasdar Online tried to reach out to Al-Ajmi to ask whether he sees any inconsistency between his work as head of a human rights organization and persecuting Al-Hammadi. He has not responded.