Jurisdiction

Yemen

About this jurisdiction

Yemen is located in Western Asia and is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the east, Oman to the south, and Iraq to the west. It has a population of over 27 million people and covers an area of about 287,000 square kilometers. Yemen was known as the Aden Protectorate since 1890 until 1962 when it became a republic. In 1990, a military coup led by Lieutenant Colonel Ali Abdullah Saleh ousted the republican government and established a military junta. In 1994, following an uprising against Saleh, the new president, Ali Abdullatif Mohamud Yasin, agreed to hold periodic elections. The first multiparty parliamentary elections were held in 1996, but following complaints of irregularities they were again annulled. A third attempt at holding parliamentary elections in 2001 was also unsuccessful due to fighting between pro-Saleh forces and pro-Yazid forces in the north. In 2003, another military coup led by Captain Ahmed Ali Haidari forced Yasin into exile and established a military government which remained in power until 2011.