Watan-Pages and accounts affiliated with the Yemeni Houthi group reported that the Saudi dissident “Ali Hashem Al-Hajji” arrived in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, after defecting from the Mohammad bin Salman regime and declaring allegiance to the leader of the Houthi group, “Abdul Malik al-Houthi”.
In a widely circulated video on social media platforms, “Ali Hashem Al-Hajji” appeared inside a house holding his Saudi passport, which he then threw into a waste basket, stating that Yemenis had granted him Yemeni citizenship.
In a tweet on his former “X” account on Twitter, Hashem sarcastically remarked about the Saudi authorities: “The mercenaries have been at it for 9 years (coming to Sana’a). I have arrived in Sana’a while they haven’t yet.”
This gave the impression as if he was in his hometown of Al-Ahsa, while informed sources confirmed he had been in Lebanon, where he had fled to years ago.
In an audio recording in August 2022, he threatened the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Beirut with “wiping out everyone inside” in protest against his family’s situation in Al-Ahsa, where they were under house arrest.
الجمهورية اليمنية
والشعب اليمني الحر يرحب بكافة أحرار العالم من مختلف الجنسيات نرحب بالاخ العزيز الناشط السعودي الحر
المجاهد/علي هاشم @ALI_HASHIM_313A
وصوله بين اخوته واهله من أبناء الشعب اليمني
حللت اهلا ووصلت سهلا#اليمن قبلة الأحرار#اليمن_يتسع_للجميع #اليوم_الوطني_للصمود pic.twitter.com/Cswj62Ht0F— فارس العرب (@farsalr56813026) March 26, 2024
Ali Hashem stated in previous interviews that he had received several threats from Saudi intelligence to kill his sons in a staged car accident if he didn’t cease his activities, and everyone heard his response in the recording.
On August 3rd, Al-Hajji tweeted, “Due to my opposition to the war in Yemen and my demand for the rights of Shia in Saudi Arabia, my children were put under house arrest, all their services were suspended, and they were subjected to harassment.”
He added, “The Saudi regime thinks its actions will deter me from my activities. By God, today I am stronger and more determined to work towards toppling the Al Saud regime.”
Residing in the southern suburbs
Al-Hajji hails from the Al-Ahsa Governorate. He was sentenced for terrorism-related offenses and financing in 2017, a year after leaving Saudi Arabia. It seems he leaked from there to Iraq and then to Syria before settling in the southern suburbs of Lebanon.
Saudi dissident and human rights activist, and Gulf affairs expert Ali Al-Ahmad predicted that “the coming months will witness widespread rebellion within Saudi Arabia, including within the military establishment.”
In an interview with “Al-Masirah” website affiliated with the Houthi group, he said, “The coming months will be crucial in the history of the Arabian Peninsula because they carry signs of widespread rebellion domestically, even from within the military establishment, following the failure of the Yemeni invasion and the suppression of its people’s will despite continuous American and British support, both militarily and politically, to this day.”
He added, “We might witness a significant internal defeat for the regime and a reduction in its control over the country,” expressing his belief that the Saudi regime will not collapse immediately, but there is a significant decline in its legitimacy and local acceptance.