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Frenchwoman Held Captive in Yemen Pleads for Help in Video American Journalist Is Freed by Yemen’s Houthi Rebels
(about 2 hours later)
A Frenchwoman seized in Yemen more than three months ago said in a video released by her captors on Monday that she had tried repeatedly to kill herself, and pleaded with the French and Yemeni presidents to help secure her return home. CAIRO — Yemen’s Houthi rebel group on Monday released an American freelance journalist who had been in its custody for about two weeks, according to the journalist’s family.
A video posted online of the captive, Isabelle Prime, 30, a consultant for a World Bank-financed project in Yemen, was the first time Ms. Prime had been seen publicly since she and a Yemeni translator were seized Feb. 24 in the Yemeni capital, Sana, in a brazen daytime abduction. The translator, identified by news agencies as Sherine Makkaoui, was freed March 10 in the southern city of Aden. The release of the journalist, Casey L. Coombs, one of several Americans believed held by the Houthis, came as the abductors of a Frenchwoman seized three months ago published a video online of her pleading with the presidents of France and Yemen for her rescue. The Frenchwoman’s captors are not believed to be Houthis, and may be aligned with Al Qaeda militants in Yemen.
The identities of Ms. Prime’s abductors have not been disclosed. It also was not clear when the video was produced, but Ms. Prime’s reference to the Yemeni president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, suggested it might have been made before he was forced into exile in Saudi Arabia in March by Houthi insurgents. A Saudi-led military coalition has been bombing Yemen since then as part of its goal to restore Mr. Hadi to power. Mr. Coombs, who lived in Sana, Yemen’s capital, was arrested by Houthi militiamen there in mid-May, and traveled to neighboring Oman on Monday. He was scheduled to undergo a medical evaluation there before flying home to Seattle, his mother, Jill Marie Hammill, said in a telephone interview.
Ms. Hammill said she had received a call from the International Committee of the Red Cross early Monday saying that Mr. Coombs was at the Sana airport and was preparing to leave Yemen. She was able to speak to her son on Monday afternoon, after he arrived in Oman.
“I cannot describe how happy I am,” she said.
Mr. Coombs has written for publications including The Intercept, The American Prospect and Time magazine.
The Obama administration has said a number of Americans have been detained by the Houthis, a Shiite rebel group that took control of Yemen’s capital and forced the United States-backed Yemeni government from power earlier this year.
American officials have not released details on the identities of the others in Houthi custody.
The video of the abducted Frenchwoman, Isabelle Prime, 30, a consultant for a World Bank-financed project, was the first time Ms. Prime had been seen publicly since she and a Yemeni translator were seized Feb. 24 in a brazen daytime abduction in Sana. The translator, identified by news agencies as Sherine Makkaoui, was freed March 10 in the southern city of Aden.
It also was not clear when the video of Ms. Prime was produced, but her reference to the Yemeni president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, suggested it might have been made before he was forced into exile in Saudi Arabia in March by the Houthi insurgents. A Saudi-led military coalition has been bombing Yemen since then as part of its goal to restore Mr. Hadi to power.
In the video, Ms. Prime, speaking in accented English, appeals to President François Hollande of France and Mr. Hadi. Looking frightened and wearing a black head scarf and shirt, she squints into the video camera.In the video, Ms. Prime, speaking in accented English, appeals to President François Hollande of France and Mr. Hadi. Looking frightened and wearing a black head scarf and shirt, she squints into the video camera.
“My name is Isabelle and I’ve been kidnapped 10 weeks ago in Yemen, in Sana,” she said. “Please bring me to France, fast, because I’m really, really tired. I’ve tried to kill myself several times because I know you will not cooperate, and I totally understand.”“My name is Isabelle and I’ve been kidnapped 10 weeks ago in Yemen, in Sana,” she said. “Please bring me to France, fast, because I’m really, really tired. I’ve tried to kill myself several times because I know you will not cooperate, and I totally understand.”
Government officials in Paris confirmed the authenticity of the video and reiterated their intention to secure Ms. Prime’s release, but provided no further details.Government officials in Paris confirmed the authenticity of the video and reiterated their intention to secure Ms. Prime’s release, but provided no further details.
Yemen, the Middle East’s poorest country and an incubator of Al Qaeda militants, has long been a dangerous place for Westerners. Last December, an American photojournalist, Luke Somers, and a South African teacher, Pierre Korkie, were killed by their Qaeda captors after American military commandos undertook a raid in southern Yemen in an effort to free them.Yemen, the Middle East’s poorest country and an incubator of Al Qaeda militants, has long been a dangerous place for Westerners. Last December, an American photojournalist, Luke Somers, and a South African teacher, Pierre Korkie, were killed by their Qaeda captors after American military commandos undertook a raid in southern Yemen in an effort to free them.
While most Americans have left the country since the Houthi insurgency escalated in March, several United States citizens are believed to be held in the capital by the Houthis. State Department officials have said they are seeking to secure the release of the Americans, but the effort has been complicated by United States support for Saudi Arabia.