Kidnap Briton released in Yemen

A British man who was kidnapped by unknown gunmen in the Yemeni capital Sanaa was freed on Saturday, the Anadolu news agency has reported.

An anonymous Yemeni security source said that mediation efforts by the governor of Al-Jouf, Mohammed Bin Abboud, led to the release of Michael Harvey, an English teacher working in the country.

The source did not provide details of the kidnappers’ identity, their demands or the mechanism that led to Harvey’s release. However, local media said that a ransom of fifty million Yemeni riyals ($233,000) was paid.

Unidentified gunmen kidnapped Harvey, who works at a language institute in Sanaa. He was returning from work in mid-February when he was taken.

Gunmen in Yemen use kidnapping as a tool to put pressure on the authorities to meet their demands including the release of prisoners, or simply to collect ransom money.