Luke Symons: Back in UK after five years in Yemen detention

Luke Symons converted to Islam in his late teens, taking the name Jamal

A British man is back in the UK after being held in detention for five years in Yemen, his family confirmed.

Luke Symons was 25 when he was seized in 2017 by the Houthis, and was accused of spying for the British government.

His family said this claim was "ridiculous".

Amnesty's chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said he was pleased for Luke, but his release should not have taken so long.

Mr Deshmukh added, Luke's case is not an isolated one and other UK nationals are currently in prisons abroad on "trumped-up" charges.

"We are calling on ministers to take immediate action to secure of Britons arbitrarily detailed, including Morad Tabaz and Mehran Raoof in Iran," he said.

Mr Symons was one of 14 people whose release Oman said it helped to secure.

He was held in Yemen's capital Sanaa by the Houthi authorities, a rebel group fighting the Yemen government in the civil war, ever since his arrest at a security checkpoint in 2017.

His relatives says he was arrested simply because he had a UK passport and was accused of spying for the British government, though he was not formally charged with any crime.

His family said that in the early periods of his confinement, he was tortured to make him "confess" to being a spy and as a result of beatings his arm was broken.