Two Britons arrested in Yemen 'shot'
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Your support makes all the difference.TWO OF the five British men being detained in Yemen in connection with terrorist charges have been shot while in prison, lawyers acting for them said yesterday.
But the claims were discounted by British officials who have been in contact with the Yemeni Interior Minister and the Head of Security for Aden. The Foreign Office said last night that it had not had any consular access to the men.
An earlier claim that all the men had been tortured by the Yemeni authorities was also repeated by the men's families.
Rashad Yaqoob, from the Association of Muslim Lawyers, said the mother of one of the men had been told by a prison source that two of them had been shot at. "We have information that the family of Malik Nassar Harhra received a phone call from a person with a link in the Yemen prison, but the extent of the injuries is unknown," he said. "Lawyers helping me in Aden have told me that all the prisoners have suffered inhumane treatment."
It was also revealed that the five men had all travelled separately to Yemen last month, and did not know each other.
They are Mohsin Ghalain, 18; Shahid Butt, 33; Malik Nassar Harhra, 26; Samad Ahmed, 21 and Ghulam Hussein, 25, all from Birmingham. They are being held with Lebourdice Pierrick James, 30, from France. The Yemeni authorities have said that the men were part of the Islamic extremist group responsible for the kidnap of 16 Westerners last month, and that they had been planning terrorist attacks.
Kidnappers took 16 Western hostages on December 28, and four were killed in a rescue attempt the next day. The Yemeni government has claimed that the kidnappers were demanding the release of the six arrested men.
The Yemeni embassy in London said the men had been arrested on 24 December and were "planning to carry out terrorist acts in the country prior to the kidnapping".
The British consul general in Aden, David Pearce, said of the shooting claims: "I am confident that this report is not correct."
Families of the men yesterday pleaded with the Yemen government to release them, amid fears that the men could be tried and executed as soon as this weekend, although it was thought a trial would not be held during Ramadan, which has more than a week to run.
The relatives strenuously deny that any of the men has done anything wrong. They are planning to stage a demonstration in London.
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