Luke Symons, 30, was imprisoned without charge in the war-torn Middle Eastern country since 2017.
A Welshman has been released from detention in Yemen after being held without charge or trial for five years.
Luke Symons, of Cardiff, was 25 when he was seized in 2017 by the Houthis, a rebel group fighting the Yemen government in the civil war.
He was seized as a suspected spy, a claim his family have called “ridiculous”.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss thanked “our Omani and Saudi partners for their support in securing his release”.
He converted to Islam in his late teens, taking the name Jamal.
Aged 20, he made a pilgrimage to Mecca before travelling to Egypt, and then Yemen, where he taught English and married.
Lost her passport amid chaos
When conflict broke out in 2015, he and his wife Tagreed left the country, but could not return to the UK because she had lost her passport amid the chaos.
They returned to Yemen and had a baby, but continued to explore ways of escaping the bloody civil war that has claimed thousands of lives.
Two years later, as he presented his British passport to withdraw money to fund his family’s passage out of Yemen, he was arrested as a suspected spy.
Mr Symons, now 30, and his wife were detained by Houthi rebels in south west Yemen on suspicion of espionage, which his family strongly denies.
His relatives have said that his physical and mental health had degenerated during solitary confinement in the capital Sanaa.
His wife was released earlier and she has been able to visit him periodically in the prison.
‘Going through hell’
Earlier this year she voiced concern at his condition, according to his grandfather Robert Cummings, and he told the Agence France Presse news agency in February that his grandson was “going through hell”.
Ms Truss said: “I am pleased Luke Symons, who was unlawfully detained, without charge or trial since 2017 in Yemen, has been released.
“He was allegedly mistreated, in solitary confinement, and refused visits by his family, he has been flown to Muscat, and soon he will be reunited with his family in the UK.”
The case had been taken up by Cardiff West MP Kevin Brennan, who said it was “terrific news” that he had been released.
Such wonderful news that my constituent Luke has finally been released just days after my debate in Parliament – I’m so delighted for him and his Family! https://t.co/zz6aDZJlUi
— Kevin Brennan MP (@KevinBrennanMP)
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- 22 March
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