Sharif Mobley

Sharif Mobley (; born January 19, 1984) is an American purported jihadist who was initially arrested in Yemen January 26, 2010 by Yemeni counter-terrorism officers and charged with terrorism. There was a shooting during his arrest in which he was injured and taken to the hospital. The US Embassy told his family they did not know his whereabouts. During the interviews with officials from the American government, he requested that information be passed on to his family. His family has reportedly not received any updates on his situation. US Embassy official William Lesh, said that the US Embassy had been in touch with him at an undisclosed location but would not reveal his whereabouts or which law enforcement group had him in their custody nor would the US Embassy assist his lawyers in contacting him.

Mobley is an American citizen who was raised as a Muslim. He stated he had traveled to Yemen for the purpose of studying Arabic and Islam, although U.S. officials initially claimed his purpose was to join a militant group. After his arrest, two US Government agents After charges of terrorism were dropped he was not released from prison. During a follow-up hospital visit for complications from the initial gunshot wound received during his arrest, he allegedly made an escape attempt, during which he allegedly shot two guards, one fatally, and was charged with murder. Although consular staff have seen and talked with him they are not able to disclose his location as US State Department Privacy Act rules prohibit disclosing information regarding U.S Citizens Missing Abroad.

A U.S. law called the Privacy Act is designed to protect the privacy rights of U.S. citizens. The Act states that we may not reveal information regarding a U.S. citizen's location, welfare, intentions, or problems to anyone, including the citizen's family members and Congressional representatives, without the written consent of that individual. Although we recognize that this law may occasionally cause distress to concerned families, we must comply with the provisions of the Privacy Act if the individual has asked us not to share information about him or her.

Judge Abdelwali al-Shaabani orders Yemen Attorney General Ali Alwash to bring Mobley to court.

Continued detention Mobley was initially held in the Yemen Central Prison located in Sana'a. Sometime after February 27, 2014 when he was last seen by his lawyers at the Central Prison, he was moved to an unknown location but believed to be a prison run by the Yemen National Security Bureau (NSB)

Yemen In January 2015, an uprising by Houthi/Shiite groups opposed to the Yemeni government led to their takeover of the capital city, Sana'a. The situation deteriorated further in February 2015 when the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi collapsed following the Houthis' seizure of the capital. As a result, the United States closed its embassy in Sana'a and evacuated all diplomatic staff, according to US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki. By May 2015, the conflict had escalated significantly, prompting Saudi Arabia to launch airstrikes on Sana'a. Among the targets hit was the prison complex where Mobley was reportedly being held unofficially. Reports from May 30 indicated that Mobley, along with other Americans still in Yemen, may have fallen into Houthi custody.

Shooting Following his arrest, he claimed he was sick and was transferred to the Republican Hospital, and was charged with killing one guard and wounding another by a criminal court on October 27. at Reprieve include "threats" made against his family if he did not cooperate with the interrogators.

While in secret detention he was interrogated by two US agents, threatened with further abuse (including rape, and the rape of his wife)...

And CIA interrogators, the committee charged, told detainees they would hurt detainees' children and "sexually assault" or "cut a [detainee's] mother's throat".

News reports from 2010 include statements of similar threats made to Mobley's family and his children.

"They held up the keys to his house in front of his face," Cori Crider [his lawyer] said. "They told him his wife would go to prison and the kids would go to an orphanage. He was terrified that she was going to be assaulted." McClanahan claims that the FBI targeted his law firm because of his assistance in the Mobley case on behalf of the British Human Rights organization Reprieve. His law firm had been retained to handle all FOIA litigation related to several cases, including Mobley. The FBI interest in McClanahan's law firm pertained to several sets of documents obtained with FOIA requests. Some of these documents had been released without proper redactions and he contacted the authorities to inform them of the errors. The documents are unrelated to Sharif Mobley.