Three years after his arrest on charges of promoting terrorism , Abdul Ilah Haydar Shae, Yemen's most well known journalist, was eventually release from prison.
An investigative journalist, Shaye was first appointed by former-President Ali Abdullah Saleh to report on all terror activities in Yemen. His dedication to the truth and journalistic independent however landed him in hot water when in 2009 he exposed former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's biggest military cover-up operation in Majala, a village situated in the restive southern province of Abyan.
While former President alleged that the bombing of Majalla had been conducted by the Yemeni army as part of the government's anti-terror campaign, Shaye brought forth compelling evidences proving that in fact it was Washington which had targeted the village, using cluster bombs (a weapon containing multiple explosive submunitions). Known now as the Majala massacre, hundreds of innocent civilians died on the attack, their bodies torn to shred by the bombs.
Among the wreckage of Majala, 14 women and 21 children were found.
Seven months later, Shaye was abducted by Yemeni intelligence agents, who warned him to stop speaking about the strike. Undeterred he did exactly the opposite taking his fight for the truce to al-Jazeera.
A month after that Shaye was arrested and thrown in prison on terror charges.
While human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and HOODS often decried Shaye's arrest and conviction as a parody of justice orchestrated by political powers to stifle freedom of expression, the intervention in 2011 of American President Barack Obama ruined Shaye's chances to obtain a presidential pardon.
After much lobbying however and months of campaigning, President Abdo Rabbo Mansour showed signs he would consider a review of Shaye's case.
On Tuesday, Saba news agency announced the journalist had been freed. Although freed, Shaye will remain under house arrest for a further two years, thus serving his full sentence.