A very long engagement, Yemeni-style
A young medical student in Yemen is using social media to force the release of her fiance detained three years ago.
SANAA, Yemen — Israa Waheeb has not seen her fiance Samed al-Ameri since July 15, 2016 — four days after they got engaged in a small ceremony attended by their families.
“My joy is incomplete without you,” Waheeb wrote under the two photos posted on Facebook Oct. 20. The photos show her on the day of her graduation from the medical school at the University of Science and Technology in Sanaa — in cape and gown with the photo of her fiance displayed on her cellphone. “I know you have waited for this moment and would have wanted to be with me," she continued.
The photos and words addressed to her detained fiance went viral in Yemen and beyond, with the hashtag #WhenCanYouComeBack?"
Ameri, a young doctor with a winning smile, was detained by Houthis who picked him up from his home in Taiz, a city in southern Yemen, according to the Arab-language media. He has been detained at Al-Saleh City Prison in Taiz, though no charges have been brought against him. Al-Monitor could not verify this information.
