DEARBORN — The tragic kidnapping, torture and murder in Yemen of Abdulmalek Alsanabani, a Yemeni student who resided in California, sparked outrage and protests in the U.S. and Yemen this week.

Alsanabani was a 25-year-old living in Fresno, California and had decided to take an often dangerous journey across the south of Yemen to see loved ones. The country has been decimated by years of civil war backed by foreign influences from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran, which has left a deep humanitarian crisis, with violent factions controlling parts of the country that has no centralized government, judiciary or justice system.

Yemenis traveling from other parts of the world to regions controlled by Saudi and UAE-backed militias are targeted for kidnapping, extortion, theft and murder, as they hope to bring much needed aid to their families back home.

Yemeni journalist Ahmed Abdulkareem, writing for MintPress News, described Alsanabani’s last days, as he arrived on Wednesday at southern Yemen’s Aden Airport after eight years away from his loved ones.

It was at the airport that he shared his last Facebook post.

Abdulkareem writes that thousands of Yemeni students traveling through Saudi-controlled points of entry have been kidnapped, imprisoned and tortured. But Alsanabani’s fate was different.

Alsanabani was robbed, tortured and murdered at a checkpoint in the Tour Al-Baha district in the northern Lahj province by the Security Belt Forces of the Transitional Council, an armed group backed by the UAE, barely a day after his arrival to the country.

To legitimize the act, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) announced they had arrested “a suspected member of the Houthi rebel movement” while he was traveling with thousands of U.S. dollars from Aden towards Houthi-controlled areas in the north. 

Websites aligned with the UAE published a photo showing Alsanabani with his hands tied behind his back on the bed of a military vehicle.

Alsanabani’s father told MintPress that his family were in constant contact with him during his trip before communication was cut on Wednesday afternoon.

MintPress said his family was surprised when media outlets and statements by officials affiliated with the Saudi-led Coalition in Tor Al-Baha began reporting the arrest of their son on charges of belonging to the Houthis and possessing sums of money.

“We quickly traveled to Aden, but were shocked to find his dead body in the morgue of the Republican Hospital in Aden after he had been tortured and killed,” Alsanabani’s father said.

Alsanabani’s family said his body was full of bruises and wounds indicating that he had been tortured. There were three bullet entry wounds in his back and a fourth in his leg.

Counter to the group’s claims, Alsanabani did not belong to any political organizations and was another casualty of a phenomenon created out of the brutal civil war in the country.

Abdulmalek Alsanabani. Photo via Facebook

Abdulkareem reported that expatriates have little choice but to cross al-Mahrah, Syoun in the east or Aden in the south, all routes that pass through Lahj, Shabwah and Marib, areas under Saudi-led Coalition control. As soon as they arrive at these places, militants affiliated with Saudi Arabia or the UAE check their identities.

Alsanabani’s Facebook page is still active, with mourners and well-wishers leaving thousands of comments on his public profile photos.

Local protests express years-long frustration

News of the tragedy sparked protests in Yemen and in Yemeni enclaves in California and Michigan.

Last weekend, a large crowd gathered in front of the Dearborn Administrative Center to register their anger and called for justice. In attendance were State Representative and Dearborn mayoral candidate Abdullah Hammoud, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and many Yemeni activists and residents.

Protests over the torture and murder of Abdulmalek Alsanabani in Dearborn. Photos: Abbas Al Haj-Ahmed/The Arab American News

Among those who spoke at the demonstration was Yemeni community activist Kalid Kaid Shajra. Shajra also joined the community in Hamtramck on Thursday for a vigil for Alsanabani. Hamtramck Mayor Karen Majewski also spoke at that event.

Shajra told The Arab American News that the community felt anger and helplessness in the face of constant tragedy in Yemen and demand real change.

“These criminals need to be brought to justice so this never happens again,” he said. “They should be used as an example of what can happen when you kill an innocent person.”

Shajra said such justice is imperative to prevent the killing and abuse of Yemenis simply because of the part of the country they’re from.

“We want this ugly war to come to an end,” he said. “We want these foreign interventionists to leave Yemen and take their hands out of the country.”

Kalid Kaid Shajra speaks at a vigil in Hamtramck for Abdulmalek Alsanabani, Thursday, Sept. 16. Photo courtesy: Kalid Kaid Shajra

We want this ugly war to come to an end. We want these foreign interventionists to leave Yemen and take their hands out of the country. – Kalid Kaid Shajra

Shajra said the community is also demanding that airports, seaports and other entryways be open as Yemenis are entrapped, unable to travel freely. He also said the Yemenis need increased humanitarian aid at this time.

Shajra and others are pooling resources to raise legal fees for Alsanabani’s family to hire independent prosecutors to bring his murderers to justice.

Last Saturday, four Yemeni students from Malaysia were kidnapped when they arrived at Aden Airport. Their families told MintPress that their fate is still unknown. Shajra said local Yemenis have always faced such attacks and persecution while traveling, but many are afraid to make their stories public due to threat of violence against their loved one back home.