...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...detained Mubin Sultan, an audio engineer and early activist in the Southern Movement (Al-Hiraak al-Janoubi), along with three other individuals in al-Mualla district of Aden on Saturday.
The detainees were taken to the National Security prison (formerly known as the Security Belt Forces), and Sultan’s commercial audio equipment truck was seized.
According to human rights
...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
sources, the detentions occurred shortly before the scheduled start of a protest. The action was reportedly taken because Sultan provided the sound system for demonstrations called by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) against what it terms "Saudi guardianship" over Aden.
This development follows an escalation in tensions, tracking Riyadh’s reported request to include STC President Aidarous al-Zubaidi on the UN Security Council sanctions list and to freeze the council’s assets, under directives from the Saudi "Special Committee."
Sultan has been an active member of the Southern Movement since its inception in 2007, frequently managing the technical and audio logistics for its various events.