Deceased Yemeni detainee Yasir Yahya linked with Al-Qaeda

The government of Maldives has stated that Yasir Yahya a Yemeni national detained in the Maldives that passed away yesterday had links with the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization and had repeatedly refused to cooperate in deportation efforts.

Yasir Yahya, who was detained in March 2017, had gone on multiple hunger strikes while under detention. He had married a local in 2014, shortly after arriving in the country. His arrest in 2017, coincided with a visit by the King Salman bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia to the Maldives. Yasir was detained in connection with terror links and was to be deported.

Yasir passed away yesterday in the evening after his condition deteriorated due to a lack of food. He was admitted at IGMH when he passed away at around 16:25, according to a statement by the Maldivian government.

The death led to concern being expressed by many, eventually leading the Maldives Correctional Services and Maldives Police Service to issue a statement. 

According to the statement, Yasir Yahya first arrived in the Maldives in 2014 on a tourist visa and married a local woman. 

Police had been monitoring Yasir since then, due to his known terror links. According to the statement, Yasir was a senior member of Al-Qaeda who had completed training of the terror organization and had been involved in the organization's activities. Police also said that Yasir had been arrested in a number of other countries and had traveled through forged travel documents. Police had previously issued similar statements.

The statement by the government agencies read that Yasir was summoned to Maldives Immigration on February 1, 2017, and ordered to leave the country based on reliable police intelligence. However, Yasir had refused to lave the nation before being detained for his refusal to follow the orders. He was detained in the temporary Immigration facility.

While at the detention center, Yasir's information was regularly shared with the Human Rights Commission and was treated in a manner that upheld his human rights, read the statement by Maldivian government agencies after taking into account the security concerns. Information was also shared through the Foreign Ministry with the Yemeni government. However, the statement noted that Yasir had refused to cooperate with these efforts as well, leading the government to request Yemeni counterparts for travel documents of Yasir, to deport him against his will.

Authorities stated that Yasir had suffered a stroke while on hunger strike.

Yasir’s legal representatives told Sun that he was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack. They filed a petition with the Civil Court for a temporary court order to transfer him to house arrest in light of his poor health in July, but the petition was denied citing courtroom procedures.