A Sydney mother has been taken into custody by Yemeni authorities over suspected links to al-Qaeda, while her two children were placed under house arrest, her lawyer said on Wednesday.
Shyloh Jayne Giddens, who had converted to Islam, was arrested on May 15 by the intelligence services along with other Muslim women, Abdul Rahman Barman told AFP.
The authorities did not provide any reasons for the arrests, Barman said, adding that two Bangladeshi women were arrested with Giddens and that one of them has been deported.
"In light of wrong US intelligence information, people get arrested without any legal justification. Dozens of innocent people are being arrested and accused of working for, or belonging to, al-Qaeda," he said.
Barman, who is a member of the Yemeni non-governmental organisation Hood, said the NGO "demands the immediate release" of the Australian woman, adding that her stay in Yemen was "legal".
According to Hood, Giddens came to Yemen at an undisclosed date to raise her son Omar, 7, and daughter Ameena, 5, as Muslims.
Police have placed the children under house arrest, the lawyer said, adding that authorities have promised to allow a German friend of the mother to take them into her home.
In a letter to the Australian foreign ministry, Hood protested a "clear negligence" by the Australian authorities asking Canberra to provide "legal protection".
Yemen authorities have intensified a campaign against al-Qaeda militants after reports that the jihadist network's militants have been regrouping in the country which is the ancestral homeland of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
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