Hamoud al-Hitar

Who is Hamoud al-Hitar?

Hamoud Al-Hitar is a Yemeni judge. He is notable for leading a Yemeni jihadist rehabilitation program, called the "Committee for Religious Dialogue".

According to an Newsweek Al-Hitar was an admirer of Egyptian leader Gamal Abdul Nasser in his youth. He joined the Muslim Brotherhood in 1972, but left it in early 1980s after he became a judge.

Newsweek reported that when he adjudicated the case of the murder of two Yemeni Jews in 1984 he received death threats when he broke an unspoken tradition that judges not impose the death penalty for the killers of Jews.

The jihadist rehabilitation program he leads was in operation as early as 2000.