Yemen deports Australian woman suspected of Qaeda links

Apart from the Australian, two more Muslim women were arrested


AN Australian woman detained last month as part of an investigation into al-Qaida's increased activity in Yemen has been freed and is flying home with her two children.

Officials said the plane with the 30-year-old Shyloh Giddens and her son and daughter took off from the airport in San'a shortly before 11am today (6pm AEST).

They said the plane was expected to make a stopover in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Ms Giddens' lawyer, Abdul Rahman Barman, said she was taken from the prison while police picked up the children from their apartment in San'a, and drove the three to the airport.

Ms Giddens, who grew up in Bankstown in Sydney's west and has been living in Yemen since 2006, was initially placed under house arrest on May 14 along with her children.

Her children were put in the care of a family friend.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said earlier this week that the two countries had agreed on Shylogh Giddens, a convert to Islam who was in Yemen to learn Arabic, being deported together with her two young children.

Giddens was arrested on May 15 by intelligence services along with other Muslim women, her lawyer Abdul Rahman Barman said, adding that two Bangladeshi nationals were among those detained, one of whom has also been deported.

Earlier this week, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he spoke to Yemen's foreign minister and it was agreed Ms Giddens would be deported to Australia, accompanied by her children, by the end of the week.

Ms Giddens moved to Yemen with her son Omar, 7, and daughter Ameena, 5, in 2006 after converting to Islam, her lawyer, Barman, said last week.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said last week it remained unclear why Ms Giddens had been arrested, but security officials had earlier said she was among several foreigners detained by Yemeni authorities in connection with an investigation into al-Qaida's increased activity in the country.

Documents obtained by Barman showed she had had her Australian passport cancelled because she was deemed a security threat.

AFP: Yemen deports Australian woman suspected of Qaeda linksAustralian woman freed from Yemen | The Australian