LONDON, 08 February 2022, (TON): Rights group Amnesty International has urged the UK government to apply more pressure on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia to free a British man who has been detained without charge for almost five years.

Luke Symons, 29, from Wales, has been held by the Houthis in the capital Sanaa since his arrest at a security checkpoint in the southwestern city of Taiz on April 4, 2017.

His family said “he has been accused by the Houthis of spying for the British government but has yet to be formally charged with an offense.”

His family added that Symons was tortured to make him “confess” to being a spy, and as a result of beatings his arm was broken.

Amnesty said he is being held in solitary confinement, and during his last phone call with family last week he said his detention conditions were having a serious detrimental impact on his physical and mental health.

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s CEO, said “Luke has already endured almost five grueling years behind bars, and it’s long overdue that the government properly engaged with his family and exerted sustained pressure on the Houthis to get him out of jail and back home to Cardiff.”