Wall Street Journal: Saudi Arabia pushed the Yemeni president to step down, and he was detained at his home in Riyadh and his contacts were restricted

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that Saudi Arabia pushed Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi to step down earlier this month and that officials detained him at his Riyadh home and restricted his communications.

Hadi announced his resignation on April 7 and handed over his powers to a new leadership council as Yemen entered into a truce seen as a rare glimmer of hope in the conflict that has riven the poorest countries on the Arabian Peninsula.

The newspaper quoted unnamed Saudi and Yemeni officials as saying that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave Hadi a written decree delegating his powers to the council, which consists of eight representatives from different Yemeni groups.

According to these sources, some Saudi officials threatened to publish what they said was evidence of Hadi's corruption as part of their efforts to persuade him to step down, the newspaper wrote.

A Saudi official told the newspaper that Hadi has been detained since leaving his post inside his home in Riyadh and has been denied access to any phones.

This reported action, if true, is the second instance of Saudi rulers placing heads of government of foreign countries under limited access and forcing them to take specific action.
In 2017, Lebanese prime minister, Sa`d Hariri was detained and forced to resign; his release was later secured by France, and upon returning to Lebanon, he resended his resignation.