An arrest warrant for the son of billionaire Farouk Abdulhak, the man suspected of killing Norwegian Martine Vik Magnussen in London in 2008, is being issued at Yemeni airports.
The authorities in exile in Yemen inform the Norwegian authorities.
– Need for new interrogations
It represents a new, and hopefully positive, twist in the unsolved murder case, hopes attorney Patrick Lundevall-Unger, head of the Martine foundation.
– There is hope that the Houthi movement, which has control in the area where suspect Farouk Abdulhak is located, will now align itself with the exiled Yemeni government, Lundevall-Unger told Dagbladet.
LEADER: Attorney Patrick Lundevall-Unger is the leader of the Martine Foundation. Photo: NTB
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Escape to Yemen
Shortly after the murder of Martine Vik Magnussen in 2008, Farouk Abdulhak fled London to Yemen, where his father, billionaire Shaher Abdulhak is from.
Britain does not have an extradition treaty with Yemen and the case has been a diplomatic thorn in the side ever since.
Six years after the murder, in 2014, the dice has become even more difficult to crack.
The hunt for Farouk: the relative must have been captured
Then civil war broke out in Yemen and the country’s government at the time had to flee the capital Sana, where the Houthi movement now rules.
– According to Norwegian authorities, the government-in-exile has previously expressed that it would hand over Farouk Abdulhak today, if it were in control of Sana and the area where Abdulhak is located, says Lundevall-Unger.
“Arrest warrant issued”
On November 19 this year, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (PA) met with the Yemeni Foreign Minister in exile, Ahmed bin Mubarak.
There, Yemen’s foreign minister said Abdulhak was in an area controlled by the Houthis and that local authorities were aware that Abdulhak was wanted by Britain.
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“Yemen’s foreign minister also confirmed that he had sent a letter to the interior ministry asking the authorities to do everything possible to arrest Abdulhak. This also means that an arrest warrant has been circulated at the country’s airports,” an e -mail that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) sent to Odd Petter Magnussen, the father of Martine Vik Magnussen.
Following the meeting, the Yemeni authorities in exile confirmed that this had been done, the Foreign Ministry’s email specified.
– This is something completely new. We do not know concretely what the Houthi movement actually did at Sanaa airport, but we interpret it to mean that they are aware of the arrest warrant and that there may be grounds for action, says lawyer Lundevall-Unger.
– The time has come
Foundation head Martine calls it “very important” that the Norwegian authorities continue to show commitment on the matter.
– We all know that the crime scene is in London and that the British are responsible for bringing Farouk Abdulhak to justice, but the Norwegian authorities still have an active obligation to provide consular assistance. Now is the time to apply more pressure, says Lundevall-Unger.
When asked what this means in practice, the lawyer points to the past.
– Bigger than I thought
In 2019, the Martine Foundation invited the exiled Yemeni interior minister to Norway for talks on Abdulhak’s extradition.
– The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not want to participate in these talks and the Yemeni minister was not issued a visa for Norway either. Now we believe it may be the right time to look more closely at some kind of cooperation agreements and try to invite ministers of the Yemeni government-in-exile to Norway, says the lawyer.
“Still Priority”
Even though the government-in-exile is in armed conflict with the Houthi movement, which now controls Yemen’s capital Sana, the government-in-exile can still exert pressure on the Houthi movement, the lawyer believes.
– When the civil war is over, the Houthi movement wants a seat in government. They may therefore be interested in showing that they take their rhetoric that upholds democratic principles seriously, says Lundevall-Unger.
Discuss possible extradition
The issue was also raised at another meeting recently attended by Foreign Minister Huitfeldt, according to the Foreign Ministry email.
On 5 December, Huitfeldt met with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. During the meeting, the murder of Martine Vik Magnussen was discussed.
“He (Cleverly, journ.anm.) confirmed that this case is still a priority for the London police, and that it is also being followed up by the UK Foreign Ministry,” the Norwegian Foreign Ministry email said.
