British oil worker kidnapped in Yemen

January 9, 1999
Web posted at: 8:42 p.m. EST (0142 GMT)

SANAA, Yemen (Reuters) -- Yemeni tribesmen kidnapped a British oil worker east of the capital Sanaa on Saturday, less than two weeks after four Western tourists were abducted by Islamic militants and killed.

"It is confirmed that John Brooke was abducted on Saturday in the Marib governorate," said British Ambassador Victor Henderson in Sanaa.

He said Yemeni authorities and Brooke's employers confirmed his abduction.

A Yemeni security official also confirmed the abduction and said preliminary information indicated that four armed men abducted the worker.

The BBC reported that Brooke was employed by the U.S. oil services company Halliburton Co. But the Foreign Office said it could not confirm the report until the next of kin were informed.

Three British tourists and one Australian were killed last month when Yemeni security forces tried to rescue 16 Western tourists kidnapped by a little-known Islamic militant group.

It was the first time that hostages kidnapped in Yemen had been killed. Yemeni tribesmen had often kidnapped Westerners to demand privileges from the Yemeni government but always freed them unharmed.

The deaths led to a diplomatic row between Britain and Yemen.

Yemen said its troops stormed the hide-out after the kidnappers began killing the hostages. But Britain questioned the Yemeni government's account and demanded entry into the investigation.

British foreign minister demands access to detainees

Yemeni officials have also announced that seven people carrying British passports have been detained on suspicion of being linked to the kidnapping as well as some bombing incidents earlier in 1998 in the southern port city of Aden.

Britain confirmed that five of its nationals were being held. On Saturday, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook demanded that British officials be given access to the detainees to ensure that they were well and properly treated.

London's Consul-General in Yemen, David Pearce, has been allowed to see three of the five Britons accused of sabotage. All face the death penalty if convicted.

Cook said he had a "very positive response" when he telephoned Yemeni Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Iryani.

"I was pleased that the prime minister assured me that he would make inquiries today about access ... to the remaining two British citizens he has not yet seen," Cook said in a statement.

"I was pleased that the prime minister also assured me that those detained would be treated in accordance with due process of law."

The families of the men said Friday that two of them had been shot at while in jail. But Pearce said the three men he visited were looking "reasonably well" and being looked after.

He had not seen the other two because of "bureaucratic problems." One had a passport problem, while one was a dual national, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.

Yemen's Interior Minister Hussein Mohammad Arab said Wednesday that an eight-strong Western sabotage group had been arrested in Aden on December 24, four days before the kidnapping of the 16 Western tourists.

Trial not imminent

The British Foreign Office spokeswoman said there had been six arrests, including a French national. The BBC reported that another Briton, who had been traveling with the five arrested, was missing.

Relatives of the detainees, who are of Yemeni and Pakistani extraction, said they had been told the group would be tried on Saturday. But the spokeswoman said a trial was not thought to be imminent, particularly as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan does not end until January 18.

Yemen's official SABA news agency said Cook had expressed regret to Iryani that British nationals had been involved, but the Foreign Office denied this.

"In his call, the British minister expressed regret over the involvement of elements carrying British nationality in preparations for security violations in Aden," SABA said.

But a Foreign Office spokeswoman said, "We haven't commented at all on the details of the case. They have not even been charged yet."

Copyright 1998   Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.