Shehri, the Saudi doctor who was freed from his captors in Yemen Monday, will be flown from Sana'a to Riyadh in a special plane, Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, Assistant Minister for Security Affairs at the Ministry of Interior has directed. Dr. Al-Shehri was kidnapped by armed Yemeni tribesmen who sought to trade his release for one of their men being released from jail. He was held for two days and released after mediation by Yemeni tribal chiefs. Ali Al-Hamdan, the Saudi ambassador to Sana'a, said Al-Shehri is in good health and is staying at the Saudi embassy there. Al-Hamdan said the kidnapping does not mean that people who visit Yemen face a threat of kidnapping. Saudi fans supporting the Saudi team participating in the Gulf Football Championship taking place in Aden, Yemen, are safe, he added. He said the medical team working in the doctor's Al-Salam Hospital in the northern Yemen city of Sa'ada, the stronghold of Huthi rebels, morally supported him by going on strike and that they returned to work when they were assured of his release. Al-Hamdan stressed the Yemeni tribal chiefs' role in freeing the doctor.
