The Yemenis were in uproar on Sunday after the Iran-backed Houthi militias abducted former culture minister and Shura council member Khaled al-Ruweishan from his home in a Sanaa suburb.

The Houthis stormed his house at dawn, seizing personal papers and documents. He was then taken to an undisclosed location, said his lawyer, Waddah Qutaish.

The former minister’s son, Waddah, confirmed the kidnapping.

Ruweishan had been critical of the Houthis for detaining thousands of Yemenis, including rights advocates, during the country’s conflict. He enjoys more than 400,000 followers on Facebook. His last post criticized the Houthis for their failure to address recent flooding in Sanaa.

Human rights minister in the Yemen government Mohammed Askar slammed the kidnapping, hailing Ruweishan for refusing to yield to Houthi oppression through his continuous tweets about the situation in Yemen.

He urged the Houthis to immediately release him without any conditions.

Information minister Moammar al-Eryani described Ruweishan as “major national figure”, slamming his “barbaric” abduction. The incident demonstrates just how far the Houthis have gone in violating human rights and morals.

He added that the crime is one of thousands of kidnappings that have targeted political and social figures, as well as activists and journalists, demonstrating how the Houthis reject any opposition to them.

He called on the international community and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, to condemn the crime, “which reveals the position of Iran’s mercenaries towards peace.”

The kidnapping was widely condemned by activists on social media.

Born in Sanaa in 1962, al-Ruweishan served as culture minister in 2006 in the government of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. He did not leave Sanaa in 2014 when the Houthis staged their coup against the legitimacy.

The Houthis have detained scores of activists, journalists and lawyers. Rights groups have documented dozens of cases of forced disappearances and arbitrary arrests, and say detainees have been tortured to death inside Houthi-run facilities.

Earlier this month, a court run by the Houthis sentenced four journalists to death after their conviction on spying charges.

The four were among a group of 10 journalists detained by the Houthis and accused of “collaborating with the enemy,” in reference to the Saudi-led Arab coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen.